The House of Representatives may vote on a bill against the 'adultification' of children this week.

House Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB) is expected to discuss the bill that creates mechanisms to protect children on social media this week. Although there is consensus on the issue of "adultification," which gained attention with YouTuber Felca 's video, opposition leaders are resisting sections of the proposal that are more likely to be voted on.

The disagreements with the substitute Bill 2628/2022 They come from right-wing parties, such as Jair Bolsonaro's PL, which claims to see loopholes in the restriction of freedom of expression. The latest version of the proposal, presented by rapporteur Jadyel Alencar (Republicans-PI), establishes rules for the protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment, in addition to mandating the removal of harmful content even without a court order.

"Threats originating online are especially worrying when directed at children and adolescents, whose stage of maturation and cognitive development makes them more susceptible to abusive and criminal practices," Alencar wrote in the report. The text had already been approved in the Senate late last year but was stalled in the House.

Among the points questioned by the opposition is the section that provides for the law to be applied to all information technology products or services likely to be accessed by children and adolescents. In the parliamentarians' view, the expression "likely access" is too broad and "disproportionately" expands the scope of the law, which should only target children and adolescents.

The rapporteur refutes this interpretation. "There's nothing in our report that leaves room for censorship. The text is very mature, there's no such risk whatsoever," Jadyel Alencar said in an interview with CartaCapital this Sunday. Since there were modifications, the text would need to be reviewed by senators again after the vote in the Chamber.

The Lula administration is also working on a proposal to more broadly regulate social media use by minors. However, Centrão leaders admit that the issue has stirred political and public opinion, making a vote on measures against digital crimes involving children and adolescents inevitable.

In recent days, more than 30 bills with this specific focus have been introduced, and the Constitution and Justice Committee approved a proposal that increases penalties for online child enticement. Motta also announced a general committee to analyze the proposals, consult experts, and draft a complete text. However, the proposal ends there.

Members of the party bloc say there is no climate to resume the broader agenda of regulating big tech . The fear is that Lula's attempt to open the debate will reignite the impasse that stalled the Fake News Bill , which government opponents accuse of creating loopholes for political control of content and the restriction of "opinion" on the internet.

The Centrão's strategy is to circumvent the child protection agenda by criminalizing the sexual or commercial exploitation of minors and harshening penalties for recruiters, without addressing other types of cybercrimes, especially those of a political or "opinion" nature.