Eca Digital (English)

ECA Digital

Law n. 15.211, from September 17th, 2025, the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents (ECA Digital) (English version), has established new rules for the protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment. Obligations have been imposed on digital platforms to prevent and mitigate risks to children, including provisions on parental supervision, age assurance, electronic games and commercial advertising.

Following the enactment of the law, the Decree n. 12.622, from September 17th, 2025, conferred to the ANPD the attribution to ensure the implementation of the new legislation, to regulate some of its provisions and to monitor compliance with it throughout the country. These new powers were accompanied by a change in the ANPD’s legal status, as it was transformed into a regulatory agency by Law n. 15.352, from February 25th, 2026.

Following the law’s entry into force in March 2026, three decrees relating to the Eca Digital were issued. One of them, the Decree 12.880, from March 18th, 2026, sets out the provisions on the protection of children and young people in digital environments and establishes the National Policy for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Young People in the Digital Environment, setting out guidelines for coordinated action between public authorities and economic operators active in the digital environment.

Eca Digital Complaints

Applications related to ANPD’s attribution regarding the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents (Law No. 15,211 of 17 September 2025) must be submitted to the Agency via the Applications System, which was developed specifically to meet the requirements of the new legislation. Please visit the ECA Digital Complaints page below for further details.

Age Assurance

The National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) sets out below the preliminary guidelines for the adoption of reliable age-assurance mechanisms by providers of information technology products and services that are aimed at children and young people or that are likely to be accessed by this audience. This is one of the Agency’s efforts to ensure that the digital environment is safer for children. 

The guidelines set out initial parameters for the implementation of the mechanisms provided for in Law No. 15.211/2025 (Eca Digital), which has been in force since March 17th, 2026, as well as in Decree No. 12,880 of March 18th, 2026, thereby providing predictability and legal certainty to regulated entities at this initial stage following the entry into force of the new legislation.

At the same time, they seek to ensure that these mechanisms are implemented in a manner consistent with children’s and adolescents’ rights to privacy and the protection of personal data. The document reflects the ANPD’s institutional position and will serve as a reference for the Agency’s monitoring activities until definitive guidelines are published, following public contributions.

A second version of the guide was open to public participation until early July 2026 and will be updated until the end of Q3 2026.

Find out more by clicking on the publications below, both in Portuguese:

Societal participation

The ANPD recognises the importance of public participation as an essential tool for democratising the regulatory process and for promoting the transparency, effectiveness and legitimacy of its decisions. Given the complexity of the issues involved, it has so far undertaken the following initiatives:

• Public participation to the “Guide to Suppliers of Information Technology Products or Services: Scope and General Obligations under the Eca Digital” was opened between April and June 2026 via the platform Brasil Participativo. For more information, access Procedure n. nº 00261.002701/2026-50. 

• The updated version of the Guidance Document “Age Assurance Mechanisms” has been submitted for public contributions via the Brasil Participativo platform from May to July. For more information, access Procedure n. 00261.003182/2026-47. 

Q&A about Eca Digital

The National Data Protection Agency (ANPD), the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), and the Communications Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Secom/PR) have jointly prepared the document below to clarify Eca Digital.

Find out more by clicking on the publication below (in Portuguese):

Additional resources on Eca Digital

Timeline – Implementation stages for age assurance solutions

As part of its supervisory activities, the ANPD began monitoring compliance by digital product and service providers from 2026 and may extend this initiative in the coming months. The following timetable outlines the implementation stages for age-assurance solutions.

The first phase, which began immediately after Eca Digital entered into force, prioritises the monitoring of app stores and proprietary operating systems. These entities play a key role in protecting children and young people in the digital environment by enabling age assurance and setting up parental controls on devices, with the potential for wide-ranging, cross-cutting impact. Market concentration in these sectors in a small number of companies allows even ANPD’s targeted actions to have significant effects on the range of digital services accessed by children and young people.

The second phase, scheduled to begin in August 2026, following the publication of definitive guidelines by the Agency, will extend monitoring to other sectors or groups of suppliers, to be defined on the basis of the information gathered during the first phase and the criteria set out in the Eca Digital, particularly the risk level associated with each product or service. The update to the regulations governing inspections and the imposition of administrative sanctions is also included in the timetable, setting out the procedures for investigating infringements and the criteria for imposing penalties.

The monitoring activities set out in this timetable do not preclude other enforcement actions that the ANPD may carry out at any time, following the receipt of complaints or the identification of breaches of the law that pose a high risk to the protection of children and adolescents.

Further technical information is available here (in Portuguese). 

Planning for the update of ANPD regulations

Following the publication of Decree No. 12.881/2026, which sets out the Agency’s new structure, the ANPD presents its plan to align with the provisions of Act No. 15.352/2026. The document sets out the timetable for the internal reforms for the public, which are based on three key pillars: Organisational Structure, Internal Regulations, and the Regulatory Process.

Latest news on the Eca Digital (in Portuguese)