Brazil's ANPD tightens Discord scrutiny

The ANPD has ordered Discord to temporarily suspend live streams in Brazil while it investigates whether the company is meeting its data protection obligations for children and adolescents under the ECA Digital. The order covers Go Live and similar features, but does not block the platform entirely. The authority also warned that if it finds violations, it can apply the administrative penalties set out in Article 35, with fines of up to R$ 50 million per violation.

Discord under review

The agency opened a case to determine what safeguards the company uses to prevent and respond to serious abuses against children and adolescents. According to EBC's official reporting, the ANPD gave Discord five business days to explain those controls. In parallel, the company said it could not comply with the suspension order within three business days and asked for the measure to be revoked, adding a formal challenge to the scope of the decision.

The technical note behind the suspension argued that the live feature's design offered weaker protections and that encryption made monitoring harder. In G1's coverage, the ANPD clarified that the measure targets live streaming functions, not the full platform, until the company proves it has effective child and teen protection measures in place.

Brazilian media also reported that, in this context, the ANPD can impose fines of up to R$ 50 million for each irregularity tied to noncompliance with the LGPD and the ECA Digital, in line with the caps set by law.

Paraná and biometric data

In another preventive measure announced in August 2026, the ANPD ordered the immediate suspension of facial recognition for attendance control in public schools in Paraná. The order covers biometric processing of children and adolescents in the state public system, through the Escola Paraná Biometria platform, and will remain in force until the authority decides otherwise. The most detailed independent source also said the ANPD treated the decision as a preventive step, not a sanction.

Later coverage added that the program had been operating since 2023 and that the Education Secretariat said it had stopped using it in July 2026, before the ANPD's decision.

More demands for platforms

The tougher regulatory approach has not been limited to these two cases. Recent reports say the ECA Digital expanded the ANPD's role in overseeing digital platforms, giving it authority to inspect child and teen protection measures, require age verification mechanisms, and impose sanctions for noncompliance. In August 2026, the authority also began inspections of at least 18 adult-content sites to prevent minors from accessing them and warned that platforms relying only on self-declared age could face fines or blocking.

The ANPD has also expanded its enforcement structure to monitor artificial intelligence systems, biometric uses, and the processing of personal data belonging to children and adolescents. At the same time, it published an official notice on transparency reports for platforms accessible to children and adolescents, with the first deadline set for September 17, 2026, and fixed deadlines from 2027 onward on February 1 and August 1.

The regulatory push comes amid a stricter phase of the LGPD. Compliance analyses describe the ANPD as having moved beyond a pedagogical stage and now able to open administrative cases, request documents and information, and apply warnings, simple and daily fines of up to 2% of revenue in Brazil, capped at R$ 50 million per violation, as well as blocking and deletion of data. Guidance material for companies adds that the authority has been demanding evidence of data governance processes that are implemented, documented, and operational.

Companies are also adjusting operations. Microsoft said it will roll out age verification in Microsoft Store and Xbox in Brazil to comply with the ECA Digital, using methods that include email, CPF, selfie, credit card, or official documents. For August and November 2026, specialized analysis expects an adaptation and monitoring period for age-verification solutions before the ANPD's updated inspection and sanctions rules, due in November.