Brazil’s ANPD signs data agreement with Portugal

Brazil’s ANPD said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Portugal’s data protection authority to jointly develop and distribute guidance, tools, and reference materials. The aim is to support practical enforcement of data law and make compliance easier for controllers, while the Brazilian agency also pushes ahead with its agenda on artificial intelligence and digital oversight.

What does the agreement with Portugal provide?

The memorandum is intended to produce shared materials that can serve as a reference for applying data protection rules. According to ANPD, that includes guides, tools, and other explanatory content designed to help interpret and comply with the law in practice.

The Brazilian authority’s official statement did not detail other operational commitments in the notice, but it did place the initiative within its broader strategy of institutional cooperation with other data protection authorities.

How does this connect with ANPD’s oversight agenda?

ANPD has been expanding its regulatory front on artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and the protection of children and adolescents’ data. On October 9, it published its second partial monitoring report on its AI regulatory sandbox, saying Metatext, Synapse AI, and Prevvine Tecnologia, selected under Notice No. 2/2025, began activities in March 2026.

In that same report, the agency said the sandbox made it possible to map legal, technological, and operational risks, as well as to structure governance, security, transparency, and data protection practices. That work runs alongside other ongoing regulatory debates on enforcement, sanctions, and the agency’s powers.

What other regulatory changes are on the horizon?

Specialized coverage reported that the proposal to update ANPD’s enforcement rules and administrative sanctioning process was discussed in a public hearing on September 24, 2026, and remained open to contributions until October 26. The change is meant to bring the procedure in line with the agency’s powers in the digital environment.

That same analysis said the proposal includes systemic oversight of digital platforms, with a focus on risk prevention, governance structures, complaint channels, and technical and organizational measures for the service as a whole. In parallel, Agência Brasil described ANPD as responsible for overseeing and regulating platform compliance with the laws applicable to children and adolescents.

What is happening with artificial intelligence and children and adolescents?

A specialized outlet reported that ANPD kept Synapse in an AI sandbox despite a score of 45 out of 100. The same coverage attributed to the agency oversight priorities for 2026 and 2027 that would include 20 inspections of AI systems, covering recommendation engines, facial recognition, and generative AI.

In addition, a legal analysis said that, starting in 2026, ANPD would have specific powers related to the protection of children and adolescents’ data under the so-called ECA Digital, and that a specific enforcement process on that issue was expected to be approved during 2026. Another news report on that law said effective enforcement with fines would begin in January 2027 and that sanctioning rules should be updated in November 2026.

What other regulatory powers are mentioned?

MIT Technology Review Brasil attributed to ANPD the requirement that certain documents on digital services disclose data protection measures, identification of child accounts, and the methods and results used to assess and manage risks to safety and health. That reference was presented by the publication, but it does not appear in the official material included in this report.

Migalhas, meanwhile, described the possibility that ANPD could adopt precautionary measures before or during a proceeding when there is a risk of harm or a risk to the useful outcome of the case. The article placed that tool in scenarios where current or imminent harm is considered to children and adolescents’ rights and to the protection of personal data.

What role does ECA Digital play in the reporting?

Agência Brasil said ANPD is responsible for overseeing and regulating platform compliance with the laws applicable to children and adolescents. That independent coverage adds to the regulatory picture the agency has been presenting in its communications on the sandbox, enforcement, and international cooperation.

Taken together, the materials published in October show an ANPD combining cooperation with other authorities, monitoring of artificial intelligence, and preparation of enforcement tools for the digital environment, with special attention to children and adolescents and AI-based services.