Brazilian Judiciary and Tech Giants Boost Child Safety on Digital Platforms

Brazil has taken significant steps to enhance online safety for children and adolescents through judicial mandates and new parental control features on major digital platforms Discord and WhatsApp.

The Federal Justice of Brazil has commanded Discord to implement immediate protective measures following the tragic death of a 13-year-old girl linked to the platform in July. Judge Anderson Silva of the 14th Federal Civil Court in Brasília ordered Discord to adopt specific safety protocols under threat of a daily fine of R$ 100,000 for non-compliance. The ruling requires Discord to prevent the re-creation of removed servers, preserve moderation records for at least six months, establish reporting protocols for sextortion involving minors, and ensure that moderation and safety systems operate in Portuguese. Furthermore, Discord must demonstrate adequate age verification, provide parental supervision capabilities, and maintain a legal representative in Brazil to address user concerns. This judicial action was prompted by a civil lawsuit from the Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU), which cited poor age verification and user protection on the platform. Although Discord denied direct involvement in the incident, the court stressed the presence of a 'concrete risk' that necessitates preventive measures.

In parallel, WhatsApp announced new parental controls aimed at protecting teenagers in Brazil. These tools enable parents to manage who can see their child's profile picture, control group invitations, and receive notifications when their child joins or leaves groups. These features build on a March update for users under 13 and now extend to older teens. Parents can also select Meta AI settings for their children, choosing between a standard or a limited content experience. Importantly, while parents can regulate these settings and receive interaction notifications, the privacy of conversations and calls remains intact, with WhatsApp stating, "No one can read or listen to the content of these conversations, not even WhatsApp." The parental controls are optional and require parental approval secured by a PIN.

Together, these developments underscore Brazil’s commitment to strengthening protections for minors online by holding platforms accountable and providing parents with tools to supervise digital interactions more effectively.