Brazil Strengthens ANPD, Tightens LGPD

Brazil’s ANPD is undergoing an institutional consolidation process that is strengthening its role as the country’s central data protection regulator. Among the most recent changes is its formal transformation into a federal regulatory agency with its own career track for specialists in regulation and data protection, created by Provisional Measure 1.315/2025.

More enforcement capacity

That new career track opens the door to competitive hiring for at least 50 specialists and comes with functional, technical, decision-making, administrative, and financial autonomy. The move is meant to expand the authority’s operational capacity to enforce compliance with the LGPD, beyond what is already set out in Law 15.352/2026.

At the same time, the ANPD completed the first phase of a 2026 monitoring effort focused on a key internal governance obligation, the appointment of the Data Protection Officer and the maintenance of channels for communication with data subjects. A total of 56 entities were monitored, and 21 were left open to a possible administrative sanctioning process for failing to respond. The figures show that enforcement is no longer limited to security incidents or breaches, but is also targeting the structural obligations imposed by the LGPD.

International cooperation and sector oversight

The ANPD’s expanding role is also visible beyond Brazil. The authority was accepted as a member of the Global Online Safety Regulators Network, becoming the first regulatory authority from South America in that international cooperation network focused on online safety. The step reinforces its international profile in data protection and digital safety, including compliance with the Estatuto Digital da Criança e do Adolescente.

The ANPD also signed Technical Cooperation Agreement No. 4/2026 in July 2026 with the Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico. The agreement, published in the Diário Oficial da União, provides for information sharing and coordination on personal data protection in the water resources and basic sanitation sectors. It also consolidates the ANPD as a cross-sector authority with the power to impose sanctions when data processing does not comply with the LGPD.

Compliance implications

The stronger institutional footing comes at a sensitive moment for the agency’s governance. Although President Waldemar Gonçalves Ortunho Júnior is expected to leave in November 2026 and director Miriam Wimmer’s term ends in December 2026, specialized analysis says the new responsibilities and structural reinforcement could allow regulatory and sanctioning action to continue through temporary appointments, without a leadership gap slowing enforcement.

In that context, the ANPD is becoming increasingly embedded in a broader oversight framework, with greater ability to demand internal compliance, coordinate with other authorities, and take part in international forums.