Brazilian Chamber of Deputies: Diagnosis and Proposals for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Digital Environment

Brazilian Chamber of Deputies: Diagnosis and Proposals for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Digital Environment

In December 2025, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies published two complementary documents aimed at the protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment: (i) the Final Report of the Working Group on the Protection of Children and Adolescents in the Digital Environment (GTAMBDIG) and (ii) the Glossary on the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Digital Environments, both prepared within the scope of said working group. Coordinated by Congresswoman Rogéria Santos, the GTAMBDIG was established with the objective of complementing the actions regulated by the Digital Statute of the Child and the Adolescent (Law No. 15,211/2025), through the development of diagnostics and normative proposals aimed at operating across the preventive dimension, the system for the guarantee of rights, and the repression of unlawful acts related to the protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment.

The Final Report of the Working Group consolidates the diagnosis developed throughout its activities, on the basis of which the main risks, institutional gaps, and rights violations affecting children and adolescents in the digital environment are identified. Among its central findings are the inadequacy of the Brazilian State apparatus to effectively address digital rights violations; the risks associated with the business models of digital platforms—characterized by engagement maximization strategies, algorithmic recommendation systems, and design practices that encourage compulsive use; and the need for shared responsibility among the State, companies, families, and society as a whole. In this context, the report identifies structural shortcomings in the protection of children and adolescents online, including excessive exposure, the economic exploitation of content produced by minors, adverse impacts on mental health, weaknesses in reporting mechanisms, and difficulties in the investigation and prosecution of digital crimes.

Based on this set of findings, the report organizes its conclusions along the axes of protection, labor, and education, with particular emphasis on the issue of digital child labor. The Working Group identifies the growing normalization of the economic exploitation of children’s and adolescents’ images and content production on social media platforms, resulting in harm to healthy development, the right to leisure, mental health, and school attendance. In response, the report proposes the explicit prohibition of child labor in the digital environment, allowing an exception solely for artistic activities, subject to prior judicial authorization and strict protective safeguards.

The report also presents legislative proposals aimed at strengthening the protection of children in the digital environment. These proposals include measures to safeguard mental health, the establishment of national protocols for the assistance of victims of digital violence, and the training of public officials operating within the child and adolescent protection system, the justice system, and public security institutions. The document also recommends updates to criminal legislation, including the criminalization of conduct such as aggravated grooming, sextortion, and the use of artificial intelligence for the generation of synthetic material involving sexual abuse, as well as the strengthening of investigative instruments.

With respect to Artificial Intelligence, the report advocates preventive regulatory measures, including the requirement of impact assessments and the imposition of transparency obligations on digital platforms and developers of AI systems, subject to oversight by public authorities, in order to ensure that the deployment of such technologies is compatible with the best interests of the child and the adolescent.

In a complementary manner, the Glossary on the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Digital Environments has a technical and pedagogical purpose and compiles essential definitions for the understanding of the new regulatory framework. The document explains key concepts such as grooming, age assurance, child digital influencers, profiling, transparency reports, and sextortion, among others.

By organizing and standardizing these concepts, the glossary seeks to reduce interpretative ambiguities, facilitate the consistent application of legal norms, and support the work of families, educators, professionals within the child and adolescent protection system, and public policymakers, thereby serving as a practical instrument for the implementation of the guidelines and proposals set forth in the Final Report.

The Working Group’s Final Report and the Glossary are available at the following links: Final Report and Glossary on the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Digital Environments.

Note: For quick release, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.