Felca Law and ECA Digital: child protection, age verification and the new cost of the internet in Brazil
Law No. 15,211/2025, known as ECA Digital or Felca Law, came into force on March 17, 2026 and changed the center of the conversation about childhood on the internet in Brazil. The discussion is no longer just a moral or family discussion and has become a regulatory one: platforms, applications, games and digital services need to demonstrate concrete measures to reduce risks to children and adolescents.
The popular nickname came from the repercussion of reports about adultization and exploitation of minors in digital environments. But the law is broader than one episode. It creates obligations for information technology products and services likely to be accessed by children and adolescents, including when the company operates outside Brazil.
What the law requires
ECA Digital seeks to prevent platforms from treating minors as ordinary users. The law talks about risk prevention, protection against exploitation, restrictions on advertising practices and mechanisms to deal with inappropriate content. It also requires suppliers to adopt measures appropriate to the age and developmental stage of children.
The most sensitive part is measuring age. The ANPD published initial guidelines to provide predictability to regulated companies, and Decree No. 12,880/2026 regulated relevant implementation points. The objective is to prevent services from relying solely on self-declaration, but without turning all browsing into indiscriminate collection of documents, biometrics or sensitive data.
This balance will be decisive. If the check is weak, the protection does not work. If it is too invasive, it creates a risk of surveillance and data leakage precisely for the group that the law wants to protect.
Why this matters for platforms
The new rule requires companies to carry out risk assessments. It is not enough to publish terms of use. A service needs to think about design, algorithmic recommendation, reporting, moderation, advertising, data collection and minors' experience. Games with social interaction, networks, short videos, communities, digital stores and educational apps are entering a more demanding phase.
For large platforms, the challenge is to adapt global systems to a national rule. For startups and smaller communities, the issue is cost. Good privacy, moderation, and security practices require staffing, documentation, auditing, and support. The risk is that the law protects better in theory, but raises the entry barrier for smaller services.
The impact on the user
For families, ECA Digital can bring better tools: clearer parental controls, reporting channels, less predatory advertising and more transparent policies. For teens, it could mean less exposure to design practices that encourage compulsive use or contact with malicious adults.
But there is a real risk of friction. If each service asks for a different form of proof, the experience becomes confusing. If companies collect too much data, the user loses privacy. The ideal would be a proportional model: the greater the risk of the service, the more robust the verification; the lower the risk, the lighter the requirement should be.
The future it anticipates
The Felca Law anticipates an internet in which child safety will be a product requirement, not a legal footnote. This may improve platforms, but will also require competent oversight. The ANPD has already signaled an initial phase of guidance before tougher actions, with inspection priorities scheduled for 2027.
The point that deserves attention is the quality of implementation. Brazil can create a relevant standard of digital protection if it manages to balance security, privacy and innovation. Get it wrong and it can lead to regulatory fear, excessive data collection and the exit of smaller services.
The central question is not whether children should be protected. They should. The question is how to build an internet that protects without surveilling everyone, that holds platforms accountable without killing innovation and that helps parents and educators without outsourcing everything to algorithms.
It will also be important to monitor whether inspections will be able to differentiate negligent companies from small services trying to adapt. A good digital law needs to punish abuse, guide compliance and prevent the Brazilian internet from becoming safer only for those who can afford large legal departments.
Sources
- https://www2.camara.leg.br/legin/fed/lei/2025/lei-15211-17-setembro-2025-797997-norma-pl.html
- https://www.gov.br/anpd/pt-br/assuntos/eca-digital
- https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/politica/noticia/2026-03/eca-digital-comeca-valer-nesta-terca-confira-principais-pontos