MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's Senate passes bill against “adultification” of children online

A body will be created to oversee compliance with the new rule

Brazil's Senate approved on Wednesday the so-called bill against the “adultification” of children online, providing for the protection of minors in digital environments. The initiative already had the Lower House's nod and is now ready for enactment.

The Senate plenary approved, on Wednesday night (27), in a symbolic vote, Bill 2628/2022, authored by Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE) in substitution of Representative Jadyel Alencar's (Republicanos-PI) first project. The measure was widely supported by civil society organizations working to protect children and adolescents in Brazil. Upon returning to the Senate for final consideration, the text underwent some editorial adjustments defined by the plenary rapporteur, Senator Flávio Arns (PSB-PR).

One of the new features Chamber is the provision that oversight and sanctions will be carried out by an autonomous national authority, a public administration entity responsible for overseeing, issuing regulations and procedures, and enforcing compliance with the new legislation.

With 16 chapters and 41 articles, the text requires digital platforms to take “reasonable” measures to prevent the risks of children and adolescents accessing illegal content or content considered inappropriate for these age groups, such as sexual exploitation and abuse, physical violence, intimidation, harassment, the promotion and marketing of gambling, predatory and deceptive advertising practices, among other crimes.

Furthermore, the proposal provides rules for supervision by parents and guardians and requires more reliable mechanisms for verifying the age of social media users, which is currently done primarily through self-declaration.

The bill also regulates the use of advertising, the collection and processing of personal data of children and adolescents, and establishes rules for electronic games, prohibiting exposure to gambling.

Failure to comply with the legal obligations will result in penalties ranging from warnings, hefty fines, temporary suspension of activities, and even a permanent ban, it was explained.

“Sometimes, we approve bills here and, quite rightly, we hear criticism from society that we legislate with our backs turned to the people. Often, in fact, this criticism is well-founded. But in this case, it's the exact opposite. What we're doing is listening to society and identifying its main problems. And today, all over the world, the digital environment is a problem. It's a special problem, especially for this sensitive group, children and adolescents,” said Senator Vieira. (Source: Agencia Brasil)