Mexico City pushes children's digital rights law

The Mexico City government is preparing a proposal for a Digital Rights Law for children and adolescents, built around a digital rights charter, privacy principles, security, data protection, algorithm transparency, and reporting mechanisms for digital violence. Head of Government Clara Brugada also said the measure will regulate the use of cellphones and electronic devices in schools, while strengthening personal data protection and digital safety for minors.

What does the Digital Pact in Mexico City include?

The city government introduced the Digital Pact with eight measures aimed at regulating cellphone use among young people and supporting the future law. Those lines include pushing a proposal centered on privacy and data protection, strengthening the school program Vida Plena, Corazón Contento under a digital well-being focus, and expanding Educación Utopía with more than 400 weekend workshops in 80 schools.

The agenda also includes stronger digital education, cellphone-free coexistence in Utopías, PILARES, and restaurants with storage cabinets, along with a broad public awareness campaign on cybersecurity and the promotion of cellphone use guidelines for children and teachers. Agencia UNQ also reported that the Digital Pact is part of a broader mental health agenda for adolescents and young people, with input from young people themselves on the use of screens and social media.

When will the proposal reach Congress?

There is still no set date for sending the draft to the city Congress. Brugada publicly acknowledged that she has not specified when she will submit the proposal and that key operational details are still unresolved, including how cellphones will be handled during recess.

As part of the law’s design, Mexico City opened a formal public dialogue process with school communities. Starting September 17, consultations will be held with students, families, teachers, specialists, and education communities to define the content and measures related to cellphone use.

Among the practical measures under discussion is the installation of physical cabinets in schools, where students would leave their phones at the start of the school day and retrieve them at the end. The goal is to reduce problematic cellphone use without shifting responsibility for safeguarding devices onto teachers.

What other reforms are moving in parallel?

Mexico City has already amended the Rights of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents Law to require the government and boroughs to implement preventive programs addressing harms linked to excessive screen use. The reform also explicitly adds the mental health dimension of children and young people to the current legal framework.

In the State of Mexico, the local Congress approved new Transparency and Access to Public Information laws, as well as Personal Data Protection laws held by obligated entities of the State of Mexico and its municipalities. Those rules repeal the previous 2016 and 2017 laws, set out the basis for personal data processing and for exercising ARCO rights, and, according to local media reports, also mean the disappearance of the Infoem oversight body.

At the federal level, a proposal was introduced to amend Article 458 of the General Law on Electoral Institutions and Procedures. The text requires the National Electoral Institute and local public electoral bodies to keep public, historical records available for consultation and download, with traceability obligations, minimum content on electoral sanctions, and quarterly updates in open, machine-readable formats, while still observing reserved information rules, confidentiality, and personal data protection.

What is expected in federal cybersecurity?

Analysts cited by Recorded Future say Mexico’s 2025 to 2030 Cybersecurity Plan will depend heavily on the approval and implementation of a proposed Federal Cybersecurity Law, which is expected to be introduced in 2026 by MORENA, although there is still no public record of the draft in Congress. Under that roadmap, the 2026 Expansion phase includes a new General Cybersecurity Law, a National Cybersecurity Operations Center, and the integration of federal CSIRTs.

Technical sources quoted by daily.dev add that even if the law is introduced in 2026, full implementation would take several years as agencies build capabilities and institutions, so obligations for companies and public entities would be phased in.

In parallel, the Mexico City Congress approved a Point of Agreement requesting stronger protection for digital video game consumers. The request includes requiring companies to disclose whether the user acquires ownership of the product or only a revocable license, in a debate that also touches transparency and data protection in digital environments.