The digital world profoundly influences emotional development, mental health, sociability, learning and even the way children and adolescents construct their identity. A few years ago, science and society began to detect the damage and harm that this environment caused during childhood. They’re not uncommon – and they’re getting worse.
Given the scale and scope of this impact, the approval of the Digital Status of Children and Adolescents (ECA Digital), which comes into force in 2026, was a great achievement for Brazil. This is the first national legislation to update the ECA for the 21st century, recognizing that childhood is exposed to unprecedented risks – and that platforms have direct responsibility for this.
The Brazilian Society of Pediatrics has just published a document intended for pediatricians on this new law, coordinated by Dr. Evelyn Eisenstein, one of the great authorities on the subject. I hope this will lead to greater awareness among professionals responsible for child health to work on this topic in consultation with families, thereby reinforcing the need to protect children and adolescents in this dangerous territory.
ECA Digital establishes five fundamental pillars.
- The first is age verification, which is no longer a simple formality. Platforms must use effective mechanisms to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content, avoiding the current practice of simple self-reporting – a hypocrisy intended to be circumvented.
- The second pillar is harm prevention: companies will be obliged to block violent, pornographic, intolerant, hateful or discriminatory content, self-harm or suicide, dangerous challenges, cyberharassment. This includes, for example, limiting automatic recommendations that push minors towards dangerous content.
- The third pillar is protection against commercial exploitation. ECA Digital prohibits advertising aimed at minors, restricts the monetization of content featuring children, prohibits psychological manipulation mechanisms such as loot boxes and requires transparency of algorithms.
- The fourth pillar reinforces the role of parents: any account for children under 16 must be linked to that of a guardian, ensuring adequate supervision. Parental control should be made easier.
- The fifth determines rapid protocols for removing harmful content, in addition to reporting situations of sexual abuse or exploitation to the authorities, including providing the identity of the perpetrators.
The SBP document brings together alarming data: 20% of young people aged 11 to 17 have already received messages of a sexual nature, 28% started using the internet before the age of 6 and 36% say they have already been victims of cyberharassment. Excessive screen use is associated with poorer sleep quality, symptoms of anxiety and depression, eating disorders, reduced academic learning, a sedentary lifestyle and distorted self-image, particularly in girls. But there is much more than that. Those who work on the subject receive new studies every day, bringing an overwhelming majority of bad news. Children and adolescents have recently been living with digital screens (around ten years), but the damage shown is increasing every day.
For us pediatricians, ECA Digital ceases to be an abstract law and becomes an instrument of global protection. Digital health is part of integral health in contemporary times. We need to guide families on deadlines, content curation, a safe digital environment, and do all of this through open dialogue. Family plans for screen use – including schedules, rules for coexistence and device-free time, respect for sleep, study, physical activity, play, interaction – reduce conflicts and increase autonomy.
ECA Digital brings a structural change: for the first time, the responsibility does not fall only on parents and schools. Platforms are beginning to share tasks and face heavy fines or even suspension of the right to operate in the country. State protection is absolutely necessary, because families cannot stand alone against the tech giants who are addicting young people. This is similar to what happened decades ago with advertising aimed at children, and which I hope will also happen with ultra-processed foods.
But no law can be sustainable without a culture of protection. Daily work – at the office, at school and at home – is what will transform this legal framework into a safer, healthier and freer life.
Brazilian childhood deserves a digital environment where curiosity and creativity can flourish without their health and safety being sacrificed. ECA Digital represents a decisive step in this direction.
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