Brazil: Provisions concerning internet applications in Ministry of Justice ordinance on content classification system enter into force (Ordinance No. 1,048 of 2025)

On 17 March 2026, provisions concerning internet applications in the Ministry of Justice ordinance on the content classification system enter into force. The provisions apply to all applications offered in digital stores, but not to content produced by third parties on application platforms. The age rating for internet applications is determined by content, functionalities, business models, and the behaviours they facilitate. Content is rated according to thematic axes, including violence, sex/nudity, drugs, and interactivity. The presence on an internet application of advertising for adult products will influence the rating, as will user functionalities that may produce risks, such as user-to-user chat, online purchases, and dating services. Artificial intelligence systems present on internet applications will be evaluated on an individual basis according to principles of fundamental rights, including privacy, data protection, and transparency. The age rating and content descriptors must be displayed clearly at the point of access. The ordinance establishes age ratings: L, 6, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18. Internet applications will be primarily self-classified. Self-classified works initially use provisional symbols until validated or changed by the Ministry, after which definitive symbols and content descriptors must be displayed. The National Secretariat for Digital Rights is responsible for the analysis, monitoring, and enforcement of the ordinance, including the power to reclassify works if self-classification is deemed incorrect. The rules also prohibit using classification to discriminate on grounds of politics, religion, or sexual orientation.