Inside Brazil's child online safety bill

On 27 Aug., Brazil's Federal Senate approved Bill 2628/2022, establishing safeguards for children and adolescents in digital environments. If enacted, the law would be among the first Brazilian rules to regulate digital platforms — bringing new privacy and data protection requirements with several operational impacts for social networks, app stores, video games and other businesses.

With the legislation, Brazil would join a growing group of countries and regions that have a dedicated legal framework for processing minors' data.

Following the Senate approval, the measure moves to the president for signature or veto, with expectations of a swift outcome. The law would take effect one year after its official publication.

The proposal has become known as the "Digital ECA," a reference to the Portuguese acronym for Brazil's Statute of the Child and Adolescent. While the Digital ECA has been before the National Congress since 2022, it only gained momentum in August 2025 after Brazilian influencer Felipe "Felca" Bressanim publicly exposed cases of the adultification of minors online.

Beyond the political process, the Digital ECA carries strategic social impact for Brazil, which ranks second worldwide in daily average screen time and fifth in social media use.

Scope of application: Who must comply?

The Digital ECA would apply to any provider of tech-related products or services that are "directed to" or "likely to be accessed" by children — defined as individuals under 12 years of age — and adolescents — defined as individuals between the ages of 12-18 — in Brazil. The definitions are set out in Brazil's Statute of the Child and Adolescent.