Chile, Brazil Tighten Digital Abuse Rules

Chile on August 10 continued work on consolidated motions that include a proposal to amend Law 21,663, the country’s cybersecurity framework, while Brazil enacted Law 15,211/2026, which raises penalties for sexual crimes against children and adolescents in digital settings and expressly covers cases involving artificial intelligence and deepfakes.

What debate remains open in Chile?

Chile’s Science Committee continued on August 10 the process of consolidated motions that include a bill to amend Law 21,663, the cybersecurity framework. According to the parliamentary record of the session, the proposal seeks to add principles for protecting children and adolescents, age-based restrictions, and preventive information in digital environments.

What changed in Brazil?

At the same time, Brazil turned into law a reform aimed at sexual crimes against children and adolescents in digital environments. The federal government signed Law 15,211/2026, which increases penalties in these cases and explicitly addresses situations linked to artificial intelligence and deepfakes. The text also creates a legal concept to cover digitally produced or altered material, including content that is entirely fictitious.

Which legal frameworks does the Brazilian law change?

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security said the law changes five legal frameworks, the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Child and Adolescent Statute, the Heinous Crimes Law, and the Organized Crime Law.

What does the so-called virtual patrol allow?

G1 also reported that the new law authorizes the so-called virtual patrol, a mechanism that allows investigative agencies to monitor public digital spaces, such as websites, forums, and social networks, for evidence of online crimes.

What conduct does it explicitly criminalize?

Poder360 said the legislation explicitly criminalizes the creation of realistic images or voices of minors using AI and increases penalties when deepfakes, fake profiles, or abuse of trust are used to groom victims.

Taken together, the two moves point to where digital and cybersecurity regulation is headed in the region. Chile is still debating changes to its existing framework, while Brazil has already passed a specific law for sexual crimes against minors online, with direct references to AI tools and investigations in open internet spaces.