Project that protects children in digital environments advances in the Senate

Bill (PL) 2,628/2022, which creates rules and measures to protect children and adolescents in digital environments, was approved by the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) this Wednesday (21). The proposal goes to the Science and Technology Commission (CCT).

Authored by senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), the approved text was in the form of a substitute presented by the rapporteur, senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO).

The proposal creates rules for social networks, applications, websites, electronic games, software, virtual products and services, in addition to determining mechanisms to verify the age of users. It also imposes supervision of internet use by those responsible and obliges internet providers and product suppliers to create sexual abuse notification systems and offer more efficient settings for privacy and protection of personal data.

“The project aims to advance in relation to the safety of using the network, respecting the autonomy and progressive development of the individual, in accordance with the best practices and international legislation and following the pace of technological innovations presented to children and young people”, says Alessandro Vieira .

The text obliges suppliers to take measures to prevent and mitigate practices such as bullyingsexual exploitation and patterns of use that may encourage addictions and various disorders.

According to the original proposal, children under 12 will be prohibited from creating accounts on social networks. However, the rapporteur presented an amendment to allow children to create accounts, as long as they are linked to the accounts or profiles of one of their legal guardians.

Senator Jorge Kajuru cited data from the Tic Kids Online Brasil 2023 survey, carried out by the Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society (CETIC.br), according to which the use of the internet among Brazilian children is widely disseminated. Among current internet users aged between 9 and 17, 24% had their first contact with the internet before turning 6 years old. In total, 75% of users had their first access to the internet before the age of 12.

“Thus, considering the reality of internet use by children in Brazil, it is reasonable to admit the creation of accounts and user profiles on social networks by children, as long as they are linked to the account or profile of one of their legal guardians”, justifies the rapporteur.

Sexual abuse

The rapporteur also added a chapter to the project to deal with the notification of child sexual exploitation and abuse content, in order to fill what he considers to be a gap in the legislation.

In the alternative, internet providers and suppliers of information technology products or services aimed at or used by children and adolescents must implement systems that allow the reporting of detected child sexual exploitation and abuse content to national and international authorities.

The obligation to remove content that violates the rights of children and adolescents as soon as they receive a complaint was also included, without waiting for a court order.

It is prohibited to condition the participation of children and adolescents in games and applications on the provision of more personal data than is strictly necessary for the activity. The creation of behavioral profiles of this audience based on data collection will also not be permitted.

Among the punishments if the measures are not obeyed, the project points to warnings, suspension and prohibition of services. A fine of up to 10% of the company’s revenue in the previous year or R$10 to R$1,000 per registered user may also be imposed, with a maximum value of R$50 million per infraction. The proceeds will be used for policies from the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights, with the aim of protecting children and adolescents in the digital environment.

*With information from Agência Senado