Brazil to Require Age Verification to Block Teen Access to Gambling and Adult Content

Brazil’s federal authorities are preparing a draft decree that would mandate age verification across digital storefronts, content platforms and websites that host advertising for restricted categories. The measure would cover betting, sexually explicit material, escort services, alcohol, dating apps and weapons-related advertising, and would extend responsibility beyond content hosts to distributors and the ad ecosystem. Under the proposal, app stores and platforms would need to accept certified identity or age attestations at the point of download or content entry rather than relying solely on self-declared age gates. That shift forces regulators and companies to choose between more intrusive identity-based checks and privacy-preserving cryptographic attestations — a design decision with implications for data protection and security. International precedents — including recent proposals in Spain, policy debates in India and the UK’s enforcement push that prompted some adult sites to restrict unverified access — illustrate likely implementation problems: disproportionate burdens on smaller services, legal challenges, and user-driven circumvention via VPNs, alternative app stores or family-shared accounts. Platforms could respond with market-specific onboarding, geoblocking or global sign-up redesigns, each carrying technical and commercial costs. Advertisers and publishers may face reduced ad inventory reach and higher compliance expenses as audiences in regulated categories become harder to monetize. Policymakers must balance protecting minors against overblocking lawful speech and creating centralized stores of sensitive data that amplify breach risks. The effectiveness of the decree will hinge on precise technical standards, certification mechanisms, penalties, and international cooperation to limit cross-border evasion. If enacted, Brazil’s rules would place it alongside a growing set of jurisdictions tightening youth protections online, potentially shaping global expectations for platform liability and age assurance interoperability. The final regulatory text and implementation timetable will determine whether the decree becomes a strict enforceable regime or catalyzes voluntary industry changes with varied national adaptations.