Uruguay weighs social media limits

Social media for minors

In Uruguay, lawmaker Felipe Schipani has introduced a bill that would prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media and would set new obligations for digital platforms. The proposal also creates a stronger protection regime for teens ages 15 to 17.

That framework calls for maximum privacy by default, blocking contact with unknown adults, disabling public geolocation, limiting overnight notifications, and banning advertising based on personal data profiling.

The text makes platforms solely responsible for compliance and includes warnings, orders to correct violations, and fines of up to 10,000 reajustable units. In serious or repeated cases, penalties could rise to 20,000 reajustable units, along with the possibility of a court-ordered temporary block.

The proposal also requires companies with a significant user base in Uruguay to appoint a legal representative and establish a registered address in the country, so they can receive notices and respond to information requests from authorities. According to coverage, Agesic would serve as the enforcement authority, working with the Personal Data Regulatory and Control Unit, the Ministry of Public Health, INAU, and ANEP, among other agencies.

Open Finance and autonomous vehicles

In parallel, the Central Bank of Uruguay is expected to draft a proposal for an Open Finance bill in 2026. The institution is working on a model aimed at giving users greater control over their financial data and defining a minimum public infrastructure for interoperability.

A separate bill introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by Colorado lawmaker Mauricio Viera is also advancing. It would create a legal framework for autonomous vehicle circulation in Uruguay and adds cybersecurity and data storage requirements for those systems.

Under the text, manufacturers, importers, or representatives would have to register the system's international homologation with Unasev and report software updates.

An active regulatory agenda

On August 10, 2026, the Science Committee of Chile's Chamber of Deputies considered consolidated bills on the protection of children and adolescents on social media, and also began reviewing a proposal that would require digital platforms to establish a registered address in Chile. Across the region, the regulatory focus is concentrated on three fronts: platform oversight, data requirements, and the security of automated systems.