President Lula Enacts Law Strengthening the Fight Against Child Sexual Exploitation in Digital Environments

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has enacted a new law expanding measures to combat sexual violence against children and adolescents in digital environments, updating Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) to address new criminal practices involving artificial intelligence, synthetic content, and online identity-concealment technologies.

The measure originated from Bill No. 3,066/2025, authored by federal representative Osmar Terra (MDB-RS) and introduced in June 2025. Following committee review, the opinion issued by rapporteur Rogéria Santos (Republicanos-BA) was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May 2026. The bill was subsequently forwarded to the Federal Senate, where it received a favorable opinion from Senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) and was approved by the Senate Plenary on July 7, 2026.

The new legislation strengthens protections for children and adolescents in response to the growing use of technological tools for sexual exploitation, grooming, and the production of illegal content, an issue that has become an increasing concern for both authorities and society.

Key Changes

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Deepfakes

The law expressly addresses the use of artificial intelligence to create, manipulate, or simulate content involving sexual violence against children and adolescents, including images, videos, and other synthetic materials used for purposes of sexual exploitation.

Criminalization of Intentional Access to Illegal Content

In addition to possession and distribution, the legislation now criminalizes the intentional consumption of illegal material made available through digital platforms, streaming services, and cloud storage solutions.

Combatting Online Grooming

The law expands criminal provisions related to the grooming of minors in digital environments, with enhanced penalties when offenses involve:

• artificial intelligence;
• fake profiles;
• identity concealment;
• online gaming platforms and social networks.

Protection Against Sexual Extortion and Non-Consensual Disclosure of Intimate Images

The legislation strengthens penalties for obtaining intimate images and using them to coerce, exploit, or manipulate minors, an issue that has gained prominence due to the increase in incidents occurring in digital environments.

Penalties, Fines, and Other Sanctions

Among the main consequences established by the new legislation are:

• 3 to 6 years of imprisonment and fines for possessing or accessing material involving sexual violence against children and adolescents;
• 4 to 8 years of imprisonment and fines for the commercialization or dissemination of such content;
• 3 to 6 years of imprisonment and fines for creating or manipulating content through the use of artificial intelligence;
• enhanced penalties when offenses involve deepfakes, fake profiles, digital platforms, or identity-concealment mechanisms;
• classification of several offenses related to child sexual exploitation as heinous crimes;
• the possibility of pre-trial detention in specific cases involving sexual crimes against children and adolescents;
• forfeiture of assets and proceeds obtained through criminal conduct, with funds allocated to Child and Adolescent Rights Funds;
• an obligation to fully reimburse victims’ treatment costs, including expenses incurred by Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS).

Why It Matters

The new law represents one of the most significant updates to Brazil’s legal framework aimed at addressing risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. The measure reinforces the evolution of the regulatory framework initiated by the Digital ECA (ECA Digital), expanding the State’s role in both prevention and enforcement.

For digital platforms, application providers, social networks, streaming services, cloud providers, online gaming companies, and AI developers, the legislation increases the importance of governance mechanisms designed to identify, prevent, and respond to illegal content related to child sexual exploitation.

Key impacts for the technology sector include:

• strengthening the need for content moderation and removal policies;
• reviewing procedures for detecting and reporting illegal activities;
• increasing the importance of controls aimed at preventing the misuse of generative AI, deepfakes, and image-manipulation technologies;
• reinforcing compliance, risk management, and digital governance frameworks;
• enhancing evidence-preservation mechanisms and cooperation with authorities in investigations involving crimes committed through digital environments.

The legislation also signals a growing convergence between child protection, platform governance, artificial intelligence, data protection, and cybersecurity, requiring organizations to adopt increasingly integrated approaches to assessing and mitigating regulatory risks.

Peck Advogados continuously monitors legislative developments related to artificial intelligence, digital security, and the protection of children and adolescents in online environments. Our specialized team is available to support organizations in assessing the legal and regulatory impacts of these developments.

For further information, please contact contato@peckadv.com.br.

Peck Advogados supports the social and educational initiative of the Peck Institute for Digital Citizenship. Learn more at: www.ipcd.org.br

Prepared by: Dr. Giovanna Bortoto, Head of Government Relations, and Caroline Morata, Legal Assistant at Peck Advogados.

AUTHOR

• Giovanna Bortoto
• Caroline Morata