Brazil's ANPD opens sanctions rules review

Brazil's National Data Protection Authority, or ANPD, has opened a public consultation to update its Regulation on Dosimetry and the Application of Administrative Sanctions, first approved in 2023. The proposal adds criteria linked to the protection of children, adolescents and women in the digital environment, along with fine amounts and aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The consultation remains open until Nov. 30, 2026, and the virtual public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29, with oral presentation registrations due by Oct. 24.

What changes in the sanctions rule?

The update adds specific criteria for measuring and applying administrative sanctions, with a focus on vulnerable groups and the digital environment. According to the ANPD, the text also addresses fine amounts and the circumstances that can increase or reduce penalties.

The move builds on the agency's earlier work on Brazil's Internet Civil Framework. The ANPD published an analysis of the contributions it received and pointed to the importance of proportional, risk-based oversight aimed at evaluating platform governance, prevention measures and harm mitigation.

What background did the ANPD use to move forward?

The consultation on the Internet Civil Framework received 74 submissions over 49 days, between June and August 2026. According to the agency, those findings will also help update the supervision and dosimetry rules.

On Oct. 5, the ANPD also enabled a specific channel for reports of possible breaches of the new obligations that apply to application providers and digital platforms, according to a legal analysis published by Migalhas. In parallel, MLex independently confirmed the opening of the consultation on changes to the rules for calculating and imposing sanctions, with comments accepted from Oct. 15 to Nov. 30 and the virtual hearing set for Oct. 29.

What did the ANPD say about platform cases?

In a case involving Discord, the ANPD reportedly described the lack of reasonable measures to prevent and mitigate risks linked to access, exposure, recommendation or facilitation of contact with content that severely violates the rights of children and adolescents as "robust evidence." That reference appears in a news source as part of a decision under review, not as a final resolution confirmed by the authority.