The Mercosur countries – a bloc formed by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – approved this Saturday (20) a special joint declaration on the protection of children and adolescence in digital environments. 
THE text was welcomed at the Leaders’ Summit held in Foz do Iguaçu (PR), which brought together presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Javier Milei (Argentina), Santiago Peña (Paraguay) and Yamandu Orsi (Uruguay). Bolivia was represented by the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fernando Aramayo.
In the declaration, countries expressed concern about the increased incidence of cybercrimes involving children and adolescents, such as harassment and intimidation (cyberbullying), violation of privacy and personal data, sexual abuse and exploitation (grooming), and all forms of discrimination and violence, incitement to self-harm and suicide, influenced by trends and challenges disseminated in digital environments.
Mercosur also pointed out “concern” about violent extremism in digital environments, which can result in concrete threats to school establishments, among other spaces frequented by children and adolescents.
Another point highlighted as a source of concern is the effects of recent advances in artificial intelligence technologies that may, according to the approved declaration, “bring additional risks to children and young people, as they allow the creation of audiovisual products and artificial interactions that can be improperly used for purposes such as child sexual abuse and exploitation”.
Protective measures
The text emphasizes the relevance of digital and media education from childhood, including security and other digital skills, both in formal and family educational environments, “with a focus on the development of socio-emotional skills and critical capacity for conscious, safe and responsible engagement in digital environments”.
To expand cooperation between countries, the declaration announced a meeting of public security and justice ministers from member countries, as well as police forces in the region, to exchange experiences, good practices and technical solutions to improve the fight against cybercrimes involving children and adolescents.
The text also says that digital services must comply with national legislation where they operate, especially considering standards relating to the protection of the rights of children and adolescents in the digital environment.
In the same sense, Mercosul highlighted that companies providing digital services operating in the region, “if they develop or provide services aimed at children and adolescents, or that can be accessed by them, adopt the highest levels of security by design and protection of privacy and personal data of these subjects, as well as that these companies act proactively and preventively to
implementation of solutions”.
These safeguards to protect children and adolescents in digital environments should not be asymmetrical between countries, recommends the Mercosur statement.
To this end, the bloc’s countries committed to “working closely to build the institutional capabilities necessary for States in the region to implement consistent public policies to deal with the challenges of the digital environment for the protection of children and adolescents.”
Furthermore, they agreed to improve the legal protection of children and adolescents against online sexual abuse and exploitation and to criminalize all relevant conduct related to the sexual exploitation of children, both online as offline: “including through the accountability of people involved in these criminal activities, in addition to promoting international cooperation for the cross-border investigation of these crimes.”
ECA Digital
In September, the law was sanctioned in Brazil which protects children and adolescents in the digital environment, such as social networks, applications and electronic games, which became known as ECA Digital, in reference to the Child and Adolescent Statute.
Among other points, the text obliges digital platforms to take “reasonable” measures to prevent the risk of children and adolescents accessing illegal content or content considered inappropriate for these age groups, such as sexual exploitation and abuse, physical violence, intimidation, harassment, promotion and commercialization of gambling, predatory and misleading advertising practices, among other crimes.
Furthermore, the law provides rules for the supervision of parents and guardians and requires more reliable mechanisms for verifying the age of social media users, which is currently done primarily through self-declaration.
The standard also regulates the use of advertising; the collection and processing of personal data from children and adolescents and establishes rules for electronic games, prohibiting exposure to gambling.
