Brazil One Step Away from Protecting Children Online
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Privacy-by-default: Tech platforms must design services prioritizing children’s best interests and ensure high privacy protections.
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Ban on harmful data use: It prohibits using children’s personal data in ways that violate their privacy or other legal rights. This stems from HRW findings of personal photos being misused to train AI tools that later created abusive deepfakes.
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No behavioral profiling: Online services can’t track children’s behavior to profile them for targeted advertising—a response to HRW’s documented surveillance and behavioral marketing from April 2023 and May 2022 reports.
Despite unanimous Senate approval in December 2024 and broad support in the Chamber of Deputies (with just one opposing party, Novo), parts of the bill were diluted under tech industry pressure. Weakened elements include proposals to ban “loot boxes” in video games and require platforms to exercise a general duty of care. Questions also remain about how requiring guardians’ oversight of children’s social media accounts will affect privacy and autonomy.
Human Rights Watch urges that President Lula promptly sign the bill to ensure Brazilian children can safely navigate, learn, and play online.
