Understanding ANPD's Authority to Order Precautionary Measures: What the Discord Case Confirms
ANPD ordered Discord to suspend livestreaming in Brazil while its investigation was still open. Here is how the agency's precautionary measure power works, and what it means for platforms in Brazil.
8/20/20265 min read
If your company operates a digital platform with users in Brazil, the Discord case is worth understanding in detail. Brazil's data protection authority opened an investigation into the platform, and five days later, before that investigation concluded, it ordered Discord to suspend a specific feature nationwide within three business days. This was not a punishment handed down at the end of a long process. It was a precautionary measure, a tool the ANPD has under the ECA Digital specifically for situations that pose immediate risk to children, and it shows how that tool works in practice.
What Actually Happened
On Friday, August 7, 2026, the Data Protection Authority (ANPD) opened a formal fiscalização (investigation) into Discord to examine potential failures in protecting children and adolescents on the platform. The investigation followed the death of a 13 year old girl in Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly coerced into suicide by other users during a livestream.
Five days later, on Wednesday, August 12, the ANPD's Superintendência de Fiscalização (SFI), the agency's enforcement arm, issued a precautionary measure ordering Discord to suspend its "Go Live" livestreaming functionality, along with equivalent video transmission and sharing features, throughout Brazil within three business days. Discord requested more time, citing the technical complexity of a country specific feature shutdown across desktop, mobile, and console clients. Discord confirmed on August 17 that it had suspended the affected features nationally. Text and voice communication were not affected.
This was a feature level order, not a platform block, and it was issued while the underlying investigation into Discord's broader conduct remained open.
The Legal Basis: Where ANPD's Authority Comes From
ANPD's authority has historically centered on the LGPD (Data Protection Law) and its administrative sanctions under Article 52, which include warnings, fines of up to 2% of Brazilian revenue capped at R$50 million per infraction, and data blocking or deletion. Those sanctions typically follow a completed administrative process.
The ECA Digital ( Law 15,211/2025), in force since March 17, 2026, added a new layer. Decree 12,622/2025 gave ANPD the competency to enforce, regulate, and supervise this statute, and Decrees 12,975 and 12,976, both from May 2026, expanded ANPD's authority to regulate, supervise, and investigate infractions tied to digital platforms' duties toward minors.
In the Discord decision, the SFI cited Article 6, items II and III of the ECA Digital, which require platforms to prevent and mitigate risks of exposure to content that induces or facilitates violence, self-harm, or suicide among minors. The broader investigation also covers alleged gaps in age verification (Articles 10 and 17), content removal duties (Article 29), and mandatory reporting to authorities (Article 28). Article 35 of the ECA Digital allows fines of up to R$50 million per infraction if those failures are confirmed at the end of the process.
What a Precautionary Measure Is, and What It Is Not
This measuare under Brazilian administrative law is an interim tool, not a final sanction. It allows the agency to act on evidence gathered early in an investigation, before the process concludes, when the risk involved is serious enough to justify immediate action. The ANPD was explicit about the scope of its own measure, noting that Discord was not being blocked, that only the livestream related functionality was suspended, and that the measure "does not prevent other measures from being adopted during the course of the investigation," including the possibility of negotiating a compliance plan with the company.
This is a standard feature of regulatory systems built to respond to child safety risks in real time, comparable in purpose, though not in mechanism, to interim measures available to regulators in other jurisdictions. What makes it notable for foreign platforms is simply that Brazil's version applies at the feature level and moves on a short timeline.
What This Means for Any Platform With Users in Brazil
For a foreign company used to thinking of Brazilian enforcement as a slow, fine driven process, this case is useful context. Three things stand out.
First, exposure is not only financial. It can be operational and immediate, since a specific feature can be suspended nationally within days.
Second, the response window is short. Discord had three business days to demonstrate compliance, and separately has ten business days to file an appeal with the SFI. If the SFI does not reconsider, the next step is an appeal to ANPD's Conselho Diretor (Board of Directors). Having Brazilian counsel already positioned to respond within that window matters.
Third, a precautionary measure runs alongside the underlying investigation, not in place of it. ANPD has indicated it may still pursue a compliance plan or further findings on other aspects of the same platform, so the initial measure is one step in an ongoing process rather than its conclusion.
Reducing This Risk Before It Happens to You
For platforms with user generated content, livestreaming, direct messaging, or any feature accessible to users under 18 in Brazil, the ECA Digital creates specific, auditable obligations that go beyond a general LGPD compliance posture: age verification mechanisms proportionate to the platform's risk profile, content moderation systems capable of detecting and addressing violations within the timeframes the law expects, defined channels for reporting serious violations to authorities, and documented risk assessments covering how the platform's specific features, not only its data handling, could expose minors to harm.
The Discord case suggests the ANPD evaluates the technical design of a feature, such as whether real time content review is even possible, as part of how it assesses risk under the "safety by design" duties the ECA Digital imposes. That is a different compliance exercise than the data mapping and consent work most companies completed for LGPD alone.
FAQ
Can the ANPD suspend part of my platform in Brazil without a court order?
Yes. Through precautionary measures, the ANPD can order specific features suspended based on evidence gathered early in an investigation, without waiting for a final administrative decision, when the matter falls under its ECA Digital or LGPD authority.
Does a precautionary measure mean my company has been found liable?
No. It is an interim risk mitigation order. A separate administrative process, with its own findings and possible sanctions, continues afterward.
How much time does a company typically get to comply?
In the Discord case, the company was given three business days to demonstrate full compliance. Deadlines are set case by case and can be short, which is why having a rapid response plan matters as much as a long term compliance program.
Does this only apply to social platforms and messaging apps?
No. Any digital service accessible to users under 18 in Brazil, including gaming platforms, marketplaces, and SaaS products with consumer facing components, falls within the ECA Digital's scope if it presents the kinds of risks the statute addresses.
Next Steps
If your platform has users under 18 in Brazil, or you are uncertain whether the ECA Digital applies to your product, Reis Araujo Advogados advises foreign technology companies on ECA Digital and LGPD compliance, risk assessments, and representation before the ANPD, including response to precautionary measures and investigations. Contact our team to review your platform's exposure.
