Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued two decrees tightening rules for social media and digital platforms in Latin America’s largest economy, escalating the government’s push to curb hate speech, misinformation and online crime.
The measures require platforms operating in Brazil to take "proactive and proportionate” action to prevent the spread of criminal content, formalising standards established by Brazil’s Supreme Court last year. The orders were released on Wednesday ahead of publication in Thursday’s official gazette.
Under the new executive orders, online platforms must work to prevent the circulation of content linked to crimes including terrorism, child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, self-harm and violence against women. Companies that sell online advertising will also be required to retain data so authorities can identify those responsible for scams and compensate victims.
The decrees from Lula, who’s running for reelection in October, are just the latest steps in Brazil’s increasingly aggressive effort to regulate tech giants. A couple years ago, an outspoken supreme court justice ordered X to be taken down temporarily, stemming from fallout over accounts posting hate speech and disinformation on the platform that the leftist leader argued was undermining democracy.
Under the orders, digital platforms may face liability when paid advertising is used to promote criminal content and companies repeatedly fail to prevent illegal activity, including fraud. But companies will be allowed to review complaints and provide avenues for user appeals.
The rules further require companies to demonstrate they have adopted effective technical and preventive measures to reduce risks and limit the large-scale circulation of illegal content. Oversight will fall to Brazil’s data protection authority, known as ANPD.
The second decree focuses specifically on protecting women by creating mechanisms to monitor whether digital platforms are acting quickly enough to address gender-based violence.
The measure requires platforms to maintain permanent and easily accessible reporting channels for non-consensual intimate content, with the removal of such material required within two hours of notification. Companies are required to preserve evidence and information needed for criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Meta Platforms Inc in Brazil declined to comment, while TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lula’s decrees follow a move from last month when the government raised YouTube’s recommended age rating to 16 years old, from 14, because of a controversy over the so-called Novela das Frutas, or Fruit Soap Opera. The popular AI-generated series features talking fruits that went viral among children despite adult themes such as violence, harassment and prejudice.
Google, which owns YouTube, declined to comment.
Earlier this year, the government also began enforcing rules banning minors from accessing online gambling, pornography and similar content, implementing restrictions approved in 2025. – Bloomberg
