Global companies already dealing with the European GDPR and the American COPPA often assume their international compliance covers the Brazilian ECA Digital. This assumption is a strategic mistake: despite shared principles, ECA Digital has scope, obligations, and enforcement mechanisms that require dedicated treatment.
Scope: what each regulation reaches
GDPR regulates the processing of personal data of individuals in the European Union, with a horizontal regime across all ages complemented by specific rules for minors. COPPA focuses specifically on children under 13 in the United States, with rules on parental consent and data collection.
The Brazilian ECA Digital has a distinct scope: it covers children and adolescents up to age 18, goes beyond data protection — addressing content moderation, advertising, algorithms, age verification, and transparency — and creates structural obligations such as a legal representative and headquarters in Brazil that do not exist under GDPR or COPPA.
Substantive obligations compared
GDPR and COPPA are largely data-processing regulations. ECA Digital is a platform regulation: it requires age verification in services reaching minors, parental controls, restrictions on behavioral advertising to minors, algorithmic transparency, accessible complaint tools, and — for large platforms — semiannual reports in Portuguese.
A platform can be fully aligned with GDPR and COPPA and still breach ECA Digital, especially in representation, headquarters, and local transparency obligations.
Legal presence in the country
GDPR requires, in certain cases, a representative in the European Union (Art. 27); COPPA does not require a formal U.S. representative. ECA Digital goes further: it requires a legal-entity representative in Brazil with explicit powers (Article 40), reinforced by the headquarters requirement under Decree No. 12.975/2026. This combination — representation and headquarters — is a Brazilian characteristic.
Companies already operating under GDPR and COPPA must now structure this specific layer — see how our regulatory representation works.
Sanctions and escalation
GDPR allows fines of up to 4% of global revenue. COPPA imposes civil fines per violation. ECA Digital combines fines of up to 10% of revenue in Brazil (capped at BRL 50 million per infraction), activity suspension and prohibition, and executive liability. Escalation to operational blocking in Brazil is a central difference from the European and American regimes.
The practical takeaway: adapting global compliance programs to ECA Digital requires more than translating policies — it requires a specific Brazilian legal and operational layer, treated with the same rigor the company applies to GDPR and COPPA in its home jurisdictions.