Law and technology in Brazil: trends, challenges, and opportunities for 2025

With technological progress continuing to drive significant change, laws and regulations require constant adaptation. In Brazil in 2025, topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), data protection, and intellectual property (IP) are expected to play an even more central role, with new regulations likely to be approved and deeper debates within courts and regulatory bodies. This article provides an overview of the main trends and challenges expected for 2025, addressing how the ongoing transformation can impact different sectors and shape Brazil’s legal and technological landscape.

Technology

After years of discussions, the end of 2024 saw important developments regarding the use of AI and the liability regime applicable to platforms in Brazil. The debate on this issue is expected to intensify further still in 2025.

On December 10, 2024, Brazil’s Senate approved a bill for an AI Act that would establish a national regulatory framework for the development, use, and governance of AI systems in Brazil.

The bill defines a set of rules and rights to protect individuals or groups affected by AI systems, such as the rights to information and human review and the classification of AI systems according to the level of risk they pose. According to the Senate-approved version of the bill, the civil liability regime for any damages that this technology causes will follow the Consumer Protection Code or the Civil Code (as applicable). This bill has been sent to the House of Representatives for further review and, if approved there, will then require presidential assent to take effect.

The topic is also on the agenda of other authorities – including the Brazilian Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which has opened a public consultation to collect contributions from society on data processing in AI systems and models. The new deadline for submissions ends on January 24, 2025.

In regard to digital platform liability, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) began ruling on Themes No. 533 and No. 987 on November 27, 2024, which address the constitutionality of Article 19 of Brazil’s Internet Civil Framework (Law No. 12,965/2014 – MCI). According to the current wording of this provision, digital application providers can only be held liable for user-published content if they fail to remove it after a court order (with specific exceptions related to content involving nudity, for example). The court’s ruling could potentially expand platforms’ obligations to remove certain content merely upon being notified.

Any changes to the applicable liability regime would impact the current practices and governance of companies in Brazil, creating significant challenges for the coming years. So far, only three of the court’s eleven justices (Luiz Fux, Luis Roberto Barroso, and Dias Toffoli) have cast their votes on the issue, though the others are expected to do so in 2025 once the court returns from its recess.

Data protection

The enforcement of Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (Law No. 13,709/2018 – LGPD) in technology matters has been a prominent topic in recent years and will remain so in 2025.

2024 was marked by significant regulatory developments for data protection in the country. The ANPD established regulations on different aspects of the LGPD, including the Security Incident Reporting Regulation, Regulations on International Data Transfers, the Data Protection Officer Regulations, and the Guidelines on Legitimate Interest, while also ramping up its monitoring activities.

At the international level, the ANPD strengthened institutional relations and expanded technical and regulatory cooperation with other authorities. Notable initiatives include memoranda of understanding signed with the Canadian Commissioner and the Spanish Data Protection Agency. Furthermore, the ANPD moved forward with forming the Lusophone Data Protection Network (Rede Lusófona de Proteção de Dados), which unites Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe in joint efforts to promote data protection in Portuguese-speaking nations.

According to its new regulatory agenda, the ANPD is expected to further intensify and coordinate its actions in 2025. Among the agenda’s priority topics, the regulation and supervision of AI-related issues stand out – especially the question of applicable legal bases and the right to review automated decisions that affect data subjects’ interests (as provided for in the LGPD). The processing of minors’ data is also set to receive close attention, which will consider their best interests, parents’ and legal guardians’ consent, data collection in games and internet applications, age verification, and the establishment of best practices.

Another important issue for 2025 concerns regulating anonymization and pseudonymization processes to establish technical standards mentioned in the LGPD. There is also the regulation of the Personal Data Protection Impact Report for cases where data processing presents a high risk to upholding the general principles of personal data protection.

Finally, the ANPD’s agenda provides for regulating aspects of processing sensitive data – especially biometric data – in the context of facial recognition technologies. The activities of data aggregators – who frequently resort to data scraping – will also be the subject of specific guidance on adopting transparency measures and on limits on using public and manifestly public data.

Discussions in Brazil’s judiciary on the application of the LGPD are expected to increase in 2025. This includes issues such as civil liability in cases of data breaches and lawfulness in processing personal data, which may help to further consolidate the case law on the subject.

Intellectual property

As technology continues to evolve, discussions around IP topics also become more complex. In line with movements in recent years, 2025 should see various jurisdictions around the globe revisit their IP-related laws to address new concerns. One of the main challenges involves finding a balance between managing the rights of authors and IP asset holders and fomenting broad, collaborative technological progress.

Given the recent progress in Brazil toward establishing an AI Act, debates should intensify on the prerogatives of copyright holders and related rights holders (provided for in the Copyright Law – Law No. 9,610/1998) concerning the use of their works for training AI systems.

The current Senate-approved version of the Brazilian AI Act stipulates that agents who use content protected by copyright (and related rights) when mining, training, or developing AI systems must negotiate compensation with the respective copyright holders. Furthermore, holders have the right to opt out of the use of their content in such AI systems. On the other hand, the current text does establish that in certain conditions and specific cases, text and data mining do not infringe on copyright and related rights. Given the potential for this bill to be passed and signed into law, negotiation between copyright holders and AI system developers will be essential to avoid hindering innovation.

Moreover, discussions related to rights over content and even inventions created with the help of AI systems are set to challenge the current IP legislation and traditional notions of ‘authorship,’ ‘ownership,’ and ‘patentability.’

As the amount of digital content grows larger and larger, efforts to combat piracy and the unauthorized use of digital assets will also have to be ramped up. This will require monitoring strategies for detecting online IP violations to be created and strengthened.

Considering the growing relevance of the energy transition and the ESG agenda, in 2025, companies are increasingly expected to take advantage of regulatory and legal incentives in Brazil aimed at research and protecting innovation in this market – for example, the ‘Green Patents’ initiative created by the Brazilian Trademark and Patent Office (INPI), which seeks to accelerate the examination of patent applications for environmentally focused technologies. The energy transition also represents a unique opportunity for Brazil to shift from predominantly being a technology importer to a more prominent position in creating and exporting innovation.

Finally, having adopted measures in recent years to prioritize private agents’ autonomy, the INPI has announced new changes that will provide incentives for economic development and protecting tangible assets. In particular, it recently announced its new position in favor of authorizing the registration of so-called advertising signs or expressions (slogans) as trademarks.

Entertainment

Brazil’s entertainment sector is also constantly transforming, with technological innovation, changes in consumer habits, and regulatory changes concerning the use of AI and betting activities among the contributing factors.

In the wake of Law No. 14,790 being enacted to regulate fixed-odds betting (including online betting) at the end of 2023, the Ministry of Finance’s new Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) issued a series of ordinances in 2024 to regulate the industry in the country. Among other rules, these ordinances establish how companies can legalize their betting-related operations in Brazil and how they must conduct their communication and marketing actions.

Starting from January 1, 2025, only companies authorized by the SPA may run betting operations in Brazil. As such, the betting industry – which previously operated in Brazil without specific regulations for many years – is expected to be subject to greater scrutiny. Betting companies that did not obtain an operating license in 2024 will need to go through the process of submitting the necessary documentation to the SPA, as well as the payment of the license fee. Moreover, considering the market’s rapid expansion and the current focus on this topic in Brazil, discussions on the taxation and supervision of betting, and player protection policies are expected to gain traction in 2025.

In line with such developments, the advertising sector will face certain challenges in regard to the sports and betting industry in 2025. Advertising for betting and traditional sports will be closely monitored in light of the increased regulation of the Brazilian market. Transparency in campaigns and measures to protect younger audiences will be particularly critical points.

At the same time, 2025 should also be a significant year for discussions on regulating casinos and other forms of gambling in Brazil. At the beginning of December 2024, the Senate set the current legislative period for discussions on Bill No. 2,234/2022, which would authorize casinos and bingo halls, as well as legalize Jogo do Bicho (a well-known yet currently illegal Brazilian lottery game). It would also permit betting on horseracing and certain other games. Furthermore, the bill would authorize casinos to be installed in tourist hubs or integrated leisure complexes, such as resorts and high-end hotels.

For the music industry, 2024 was marked by discussions on digital royalties for artists and the expansion of the user consumption experience. The use of technologies such as AI to generate personalized playlists and even original music sparked debates related to IP and ethics. In 2025, the potential enactment of the AI Act could directly impact the use of this technology within the entertainment industry.

Indeed, the use of AI in the entertainment industry will continue to be a central theme in 2025 as it becomes an indispensable tool for creating, personalizing and distributing content. However, the opportunities that AI provides will also spark further regulatory debates that promise to shape the sector’s practices in years to come.

For more information on technology-related topics and the trends addressed in this article, please contact Mattos Filho’s Technology practice area.