Brazil ANPD tightens rules on Discord

Update August 22, 2026: Discord told the ANPD it could not meet the original deadline and asked that the livestream suspension be lifted, but later cut off video calls, screen sharing and real-time broadcasts in Brazil. The case also picked up a Public Prosecutor’s Office investigation into encryption and age verification, while the ANPD closed a public consultation tied to Decree 12.975.

Discord suspended livestreaming, video calls and real-time screen sharing in Brazil after a preventive order from the ANPD, while text and audio functions remain available. The measure is still in force and is part of an investigation into risks to minors, with direct impact on a U.S.-based company operating with users in Brazil.

What happened with Discord?

The ANPD’s Superintendence of Inspection issued a precautionary measure on August 12, 2026, requiring Discord to suspend Go Live and equivalent video streaming and sharing features across Brazil. The company had three business days to show it had complied nationwide.

According to the agency’s official statement, the suspension will remain in place until the platform proves it has implemented effective technical, security and governance measures to protect children and teenagers. The feature can only be restored with prior and express ANPD authorization.

The agency said it based the decision on robust evidence that the platform had not adopted reasonable measures to prevent and mitigate risks of access, exposure, recommendation or facilitation of contact with content related to self-harm and suicide involving minors. RTL Today also reported that live streams were repeatedly used to facilitate violence, harassment and incitement to self-harm and suicide.

How did Discord respond to the order?

Discord formally told the ANPD it could not comply within the three-business-day deadline and asked for the livestream suspension to be revoked, according to Valor Econômico. Later, Valor International said the company requested 15 days to implement the measure.

The company eventually suspended livestreaming and other real-time video tools in Brazil, including video calls and screen sharing. According to Valor International, the restriction covers video communication in spaces and channels on the platform, but text and audio remain available.

G1 said the order did not amount to a general block of Discord in Brazil and that the platform remained online, with limits focused on video and screen-sharing features. Barron's, citing Reuters, added that users in Brazil were told video calls and screen sharing would be unavailable while the company worked with the ANPD.

What does the case mean under the ECA Digital?

The case relies on Article 6, item III of the ECA Digital, which requires platforms to prevent and mitigate risks of minors being exposed to content that induces, encourages, instigates or assists self-harm and suicide. JOTA said the ANPD explicitly grounded the livestream suspension there, while Folha de S.Paulo reported that the agency’s authority to oversee Discord exists, but that the scope of its sanctioning powers under the ECA Digital is still being debated.

G1 said the ECA Digital expanded the ANPD’s oversight over social networks and child protection, and that this decision became one of the agency’s first emblematic cases combining its role as a data authority with online child-protection duties. CNN Brasil, meanwhile, noted that the ANPD’s inspection and sanctioning rules are still structured mainly around the LGPD, which creates challenges for fully applying the ECA Digital in sanctioning proceedings.

Data Privacy Brasil supported the measure and argued that the suspension of Go Live and equivalent video functions should remain until reasonable measures are shown in design and operations. In a technical note, the organization described the case as part of an ANPD trend toward using broad preventive and corrective measures against platforms that fail to demonstrate adequate risk management for children and adolescents.

What changed in the transparency reports?

On August 11, 2026, the ANPD issued Decision Dispatch CD/ANPD No. 122/2026, which sets requirements for the semiannual transparency reports required under the ECA Digital for internet application providers aimed at children and adolescents, or likely accessed by them, as long as they have more than 1 million users in that age group in Brazil.

Trench Rossi recommended sending a copy of the report to the ANPD when it is published. Baker McKenzie, meanwhile, said the obligation creates a new scale threshold for digital platforms.

What happened with facial recognition in Paraná?

In August 2026, the ANPD ordered the immediate suspension of facial recognition used to record attendance for students in Paraná’s state public school system. Biometric processing was halted until further notice, and the Paraná Education Department was given 10 business days to prove compliance with the measure.

Data Privacy Brasil said the order was issued by the Superintendence of Inspection through Decision Dispatch No. 2/2026/SFI. Brasil de Fato added that the decision stems from a public civil action filed by the Paraná Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2025, based on possible LGPD violations, and that the measure bans the use of the technology for attendance recording in all state-run institutions.

Tech Policy Press described the ruling as paradigmatic and said it marks a turning point in child data protection by opening the door to addressing systemic risks in data processing across social policies and welfare programs.

What other recent rules strengthened ANPD oversight?

In recent months, the ANPD consolidated regulatory foundations that expand its enforcement reach. Resolution CD/ANPD No. 1/2021, later updated by Resolution CD/ANPD No. 4/2023, established the Inspection and Sanctioning Procedure Regulation based on the LGPD. Later, Resolution CD/ANPD No. 15/2024 set the format and deadlines for security incident notifications, with an initial notice due in three business days and a later supplemental filing.

In 2025, Resolution CD/ANPD No. 30/2025 approved the Priority Topics Map for 2026 and 2027, adding artificial intelligence and automated decisions as a strategic oversight focus. Resolution CD/ANPD No. 31/2025 approved the Regulatory Agenda for 2025 and 2026, signaling fronts tied to data processing in AI and automated decisions.

Canaltech reported that, with the agency’s transformation into a regulatory body in 2025 and the mandate expansion under the ECA Digital, the ANPD is strengthening its structure to oversee AI, biometrics and child protection. In August 2026, the ANPD also signed Technical Cooperation Agreement No. 04/2026 with the National Water and Sanitation Agency, and GABPR/ANPD Ordinance No. 553 designated the institutional representatives responsible for carrying it out.

On incidents, NextGuard recalled that reports of personal data breaches to the ANPD must follow Resolution CD/ANPD No. 15/2024, including details of the incident and mitigation steps, reinforcing compliance obligations for controllers and processors.

What did the Public Prosecutor’s Office add?

Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into Discord’s encryption and age-verification practices, and prosecutor Paulo Thadeu Gomes da Silva requested information from the company on how it protects children on the platform. That front adds to the ANPD’s administrative case and increases institutional pressure on the company.

Reclaim The Net also reported that the ANPD order carries an administrative fine of up to 50 million reais, or 10% of the company’s revenue in Brazil, if it is not complied with, according to the LGPD-linked sanctioning regime.

What does this case say about U.S. companies in Brazil?

The ANPD’s recent action against Discord shows that subsidiaries and operations of U.S. companies with users in Brazil can face preventive measures, penalties and compliance demands under the LGPD. In this case, the authority restricted core service functions and left open the possibility of fines and other measures if the company does not demonstrate sufficient safeguards.

In parallel, the ANPD closed a public consultation on August 17, 2026, about implementing platform obligations under Decree No. 12.975. Digital Policy Alert said the process reinforces oversight of digital services and their responsibilities for data protection and user security.

ManageEngine described the ANPD as an agency that has moved into a stronger enforcement phase, with the power to open administrative proceedings, demand documents and information, and impose warnings, single and daily fines of up to 2% of revenue in Brazil, capped at 50 million reais per violation, as well as order data blocking or deletion under the LGPD. At the same time, Nexus AI said the authority launched a regulatory sandbox with technology companies in March 2026 to assess artificial intelligence solutions that process personal data, with a focus on transparency, bias and information security in the context of LGPD compliance.