Brazil Enacts ECA Digital Law to Strengthen Online Safety for Minors

Brazil’s new ECA Digital law (Law 15.211/2025) expands protection for children and adolescents in the digital environment. It obliges platforms to implement age‑verification mechanisms, allow accounts for users under 16 only when linked to a parent’s account, and adopt stricter default privacy settings. The legislation targets cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, data‑mining, scams and abusive commercial practices, and requires platforms to provide reporting channels and cooperate with authorities.

Experts note that while the law places heavy duties on tech companies, families remain crucial. Pediatrician Beatriz Bermudez said, “Minors under 16 lack the maturity to evaluate risks and harms of online exposure.”

A separate analysis highlights a legal gap: current criminal statutes do not cover AI‑generated synthetic child‑abuse material. Lawyer Rodrigo Fuziger warned that “the existing penal code requires a real victim image, leaving AI‑created content unpunishable,” prompting calls for a new autonomous offense. Compared with other nations that ban social‑media access for under‑16s, Brazil relies on verification and parental linkage, a strategy challenged by the fact that over 90 % of 13‑ to 14‑year‑olds already hold social‑media accounts.