BRASILIA — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this week gave final approval to new regulations requiring adult websites to age-verify users located in Brazil starting March 17.
Enacted last year, Brazil’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents (Digital ECA) is aimed at protecting children and adolescents in digital environments. The law mandates that providers of adult content require age verification beyond self-declaration, and will apply regardless of where site operators are based.
The law also requires that marketplaces and delivery apps for adult/erotic products verify purchasers’ ages and block minors’ access to those products.
The law will be enforced by the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which was recently elevated to the status of regulatory agency.
Specific details of new regulations under the Digital ECA are expected to be included in an upcoming decree currently being drafted by an array of government bodies including Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security, of which the ANPD is part.
The law states that providers of information technology products and services must implement systems and processes to prevent minors from accessing pornographic content.
Article 9, Section 1 of the Digital ECA notes, “Reliable age verification mechanisms must be adopted each time a user accesses the content, product or service … and self-declaration is prohibited.”
Noncompliance with the law will result first in a warning, with a 30-day deadline for adopting corrective measures. After that, the government may impose a fine of up to 10% of a site operator’s revenue in Brazil, or up to 1,000 Brazilian reais (approximately $195 dollars) per registered user, with a maximum total of 50 million reais (approximately $9.73 million).
In preparation for the new Digital ECA rules, the ANPD today released an English-language version of its recent publication "Age Assurance Mechanisms," which details technological solutions such as biometric estimation, behavioral and document analysis, aimed at preventing minors from accessing inappropriate content.
According to an ANPD statement, publication of the English version is intended to "broaden knowledge on the subject, given that many technology platforms operate on a cross-border basis."
Local Representative Requirement
The Brazilian Association of Adult Entertainment Industry Professionals (ABIPEA), which launched in September with the stated mission of representing and supporting adult professionals and companies operating in Brazil, has been participating in technical discussions surrounding implementation of the Digital ECA.
According to ABIPEA President Paula Aguiar, that participation has included direct engagement with governmental bodies.
“We have been providing practical input on how the law impacts adult-industry businesses and have submitted contributions and recommendations to the draft of the forthcoming regulatory decree,” Aguiar told XBIZ.
Aguiar highlighted in particular Article 40, which requires site operators located outside of Brazil to maintain a legal representative in the country, empowered to receive summonses, subpoenas and notifications in legal actions and administrative proceedings, and to assume the foreign operator’s legal responsibilities.
She noted that ABIPEA is available to provide technical and institutional guidance on compliance with the new legal framework to companies based in or outside of Brazil.
ABIPEA will also host a dedicated space during the industry trade show Intimi Expo, which will take place March 20-22 in São Paulo, focused on “educating and guiding the adult industry regarding the Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, its practical implications and compliance strategies.”
