What changed with the “Felca Law” or the ECA Digital for parents, influencers and companies?

Do you record videos playing or doing sports with your children for social media? Does your children's clothing shop often partner with child influencers? If the answer is yes, it is time to pay attention to the new rules of the game.

In 2025, a video by digital influencer Felipe Bressanim Pereira, better known as “Felca”, caused a national outcry by denouncing the “adultification” and inappropriate exposure of children on social media. The impact was such that it accelerated the passage of the Estatuto Digital da Criança e do Adolescente (Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent, Law No. 15.211/2025). Nicknamed the “Felca Law” or the ECA Digital, the legislation entered into force on 17 March 2026, accompanied by Decree No. 12.880/2026.

Many thought that the law targeted only the technology giants responsible for social media. However, its ripple effect has changed the daily routine of thousands of families and companies seeking to promote and market their products and services online.

The end of the digital Wild West

The new legislation extends to the internet the same protection that the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (Child and Adolescent Statute, ECA) already guaranteed in the physical world. Until recently, the internet operated as a genuine “lawless land” when it came to the commercial exploitation of children. For that reason, the new rule introduces essential civilising safeguards, such as ending self-declaration of age to access inappropriate content, mandatory parental supervision tools, and a ban on advertising targeted at minors based on their browsing data.

However, the change that has had the greatest practical impact on everyday life relates directly to the monetisation of profiles that expose children. Since technology companies can now be severely penalised for hosting irregular content, social media platforms themselves have taken the lead in enforcement, actively notifying content creators and blocking payments to accounts that fail to prove they hold judicial authorisation.

Is posting about your child now child labour?

It depends. If you post occasional family photos and records with no commercial purpose, rest assured, this remains entirely unrestricted.

The picture changes when the profile gains traction, the child begins to appear habitually, and the channel starts to generate economic advantage. This advantage need not be limited to payments made by YouTube or Instagram, since commercial partnerships, receiving products to record “unboxing” videos, and paid promotion already amount to commercial exploitation.

In such cases, recording videos ceases to be simple play and is legally treated as child labour. As a result, prior issuance of judicial authorisation by the Vara da Infância e da Juventude (Juvenile Court) becomes mandatory.

In practice, the judge will consider two broad categories:

• For general content: Parents must apply for a “general authorisation” and demonstrate that everyday recording does not interfere with schooling, set a weekly time limit for such activities, and, most importantly, deposit part of the profits into an account in the child's name.
• For partnerships and publications: If, for example, a clothing or food brand wishes to sponsor a video featuring the child, a “specific authorisation” will be required for that campaign, ensuring the content is free of “adultification” and that the child's image, work and well-being will be respected.

What should be done now?

Non-compliance with the law carries sanctions. For families and small business owners, the immediate penalty takes the form of account blocking, video demonetisation and potential proceedings for the misuse of image, in order to protect the minor.

Far from being a mere bureaucratic obstacle, this regulation has a clear and necessary purpose: to protect the essence of childhood. The central aim is to ensure that the child has a normal life, with free time for “normal” activities and away from premature commercial pressures. Furthermore, the law guarantees that, if the minor's image generates monetisation, part of that money must be set aside for the child's own future.

To adapt safely to this new scenario, parents who create content should suspend campaigns lacking a contract and seek legal advice to apply for preventive authorisation. For companies, meanwhile, this is a time to review image-use policies and strengthen marketing contracts.