Brazil drafts big tech bills on content removal, child protection

According to government sources, the competition bill establishes annual revenue as a key criterion for defining which companies will be subject to the new rules. Firms with yearly revenues of around R$5 billion in Brazil and between R$40 billion and R$60 billion globally could fall within the scope of regulation.

Other qualitative factors will also be considered, such as data access and processing capacity, strategic importance for developing other businesses, and digital integration with adjacent markets. The government estimates that between five and ten companies operating in Brazil would meet these criteria.

By setting this “cutoff,” the Lula administration intends to focus regulation on the largest platforms, while providing a “safe harbor” for smaller firms. The aim, sources say, is to address digital monopolies in order to strengthen competition and level the playing field. The logic is to adopt preventive measures rather than corrective ones.

New powers for antitrust regulator

The competition bill would also grant new powers to Brazil’s antitrust watchdog, CADE, including the ability to curb the formation of oligopolies in the digital sector. To that end, it would create a new Digital Markets Superintendency within CADE to handle cases.

This body would be empowered to identify platforms and design customized measures for each. It would not, however, decide cases independently: all decisions would be submitted to CADE’s tribunal. According to officials, this reflects a concern with procedure and transparency. “The bill doesn’t bring a recipe, but rather a menu to guide CADE’s work,” said one source.

The government argues that regulation is needed to prevent tech companies from imposing exclusivity agreements or engaging in cross-market practices that could distort competition.

Social media and content rules

Alongside the competition bill, the government will submit another proposal focused on content regulation for digital platforms, particularly social media, with the goal of enhancing safety in the online environment. The scope would include services that intermediate products, services, and content.

According to officials, the principle is to address conduct that is already illegal offline, without creating a new digital penal code. The bill would impose administrative obligations on companies to tackle fraud and scams—described as an “epidemic”—and to improve protections for children and adolescents.

Because it involves content regulation, the proposal has drawn criticism from some civil society groups who warn of possible censorship. To defuse such concerns, the bill specifies that crimes against honor—such as defamation—could only be removed from platforms by court order. “If content could be removed merely by notification, it would trigger a war of notifications,” said one government source.