General Rules: The Consumer Defense Code (CDC; Law 8078/90)

The CDC is the main law governing advertising and marketing in Brazil, being applicable to all sectors and products. Broadly speaking, the CDC:

• prohibits deceptive advertising (Articles 37.1 and 37.3) and abusive advertising, understood, inter alia, as discriminatory messages that exploit fear or superstition, violate environmental rules or take advantage of children’s less developed judgement and naivety (Article 37.2);
• establishes that all advertising must be easily identifiable as such (the principle of “identification” forbids hidden advertising – Article 36); and
• requires the supplier to keep any factual, technical and scientific data that supports ads (Article 36) – the burden of proof is always on the advertiser (Article 38).

Specific Sectors

Certain sectors are also governed by specific regulations; see 9.1 Regulated Products.

“Clean City” Law

In São Paulo and certain other municipalities, there are advertising bans on out-of-home advertising (OOH) and the use of rooftops and building sides, cars, buses, motorcycles and bicycles (Law 14,223/2006 and Decree 47950/2006). Advertisements in or on urban properties, despite being permitted, must follow strict regulations.

Economic Freedom Act

Law 13874/2019 prohibits so-called abuse of regulation by the state. Article 4, applicable to advertising, aims to prevent the abuse of restrictions on advertising in any economic sector, except in cases expressly regulated by federal law.

Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Council (CONAR)

The Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Code (Código Brasileiro de Autorregulamentação Publicitária; CBAP), drafted and applied by the Brazilian Advertising Self-Regulation Council (Conselho Nacional de Auto‑Regulamentação Publicitária; CONAR), details advertising limits for the different economic sectors.

In 2021, CONAR issued the Digital Influencer Advertising Guidelines (the “Guidelines”), which contain instructions on the application of the rules of the CBAP to commercial content on social media platforms, in particular content generated by digital influencers.

CONAR also launched good practice guidelines for online advertising aimed at children and issued a few technical notes on:

• proposed warnings for the use of filters in advertisements;
• the advertising of products and services making reference to COVID-19; and
• true representation of promotions on packaging and point-of-sale materials.

In Brazil, advertising supervision may be performed either by federal, state or local administrative bodies (CDC Articles 55 and 82 and Decree 2181/97).

The National Consumer Secretariat (Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor; SENACON), subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, is the federal administrative body that co-ordinates the National Consumer Protection System (Sistema Nacional de Defesa do Consumidor; SNDC). However, it does not have hierarchical authority over state or local agencies (PROCONs), which are responsible for consumer protection and have administrative sanctioning authority.

SENACON may issue ordinances and rules concerning CDC enforcement, including in relation to advertising, although advertising regulation through a rule other than one provided for in federal law is always controversial (Article 220(3) and (4) of the Federal Constitution). SENACON can also apply injunctions’ measures and fines of up to BRL13 million.

In the civil sphere, the Federal and State Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and the legally constituted and authorised consumer protection associations are also empowered to enforce the CDC (Article 82), and, by filing public interest civil actions, may seek to redress moral and material damages caused by deceptive or abusive advertising aimed at a community of consumers.

Finally, CONAR is the self-regulatory authority responsible for the supervision of advertising compliance under the CBAP (see 1.7 Self-Regulatory Authorities).

Not only the advertiser, but also advertising agencies, media outlets and celebrities, can be held liable for deceptive advertising.

Initially, case law held that only the advertiser was directly liable for the messages (Articles 36 and 38 of the CDC, which provide that the advertiser has the burden of proof in demonstrating the truthfulness and accuracy of the advertising message). This understanding was confirmed by the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça; STJ) in the Special Appeal (Recurso Especial; REsp – 604.172). However, more recently, advertising agencies have been sued along with the advertiser (REsp 1.676.750). There is also an interpretation that argues that all agents in the chain must be liable (Articles 7 and Article 25(1) of the CDC).

This understanding is in line with CONAR rules, which, despite merely constituting a code of ethics, circumscribe and guide the advertising market (Article 45(b), CBAP).

Regarding individuals, punishment will be personalised in the case of a criminal offence; Articles 67–69 of the CDC establish the necessary requirements for advertising to be deemed deceiving and/or abusive.

Misleading Offer

The advertising agency should not be held liable for misleading offers since it is not liable for defective products or services, nor can it be compelled to meet the offer made to the consumer or even deliver an equivalent product.

Communication Vehicles

The media cannot control the overall message or accurately examine technical and scientific data. In principle, the liability of communication vehicles is not strict, although they may ultimately be liable if there is wilful intent or gross negligence.

Celebrities/Influencers

Celebrities lend their image, voice and prestige to promote advertisers’ products. They do not participate in the advertising creative process, so, as a rule, receive the advertiser’s pre-prepared text, for which they cannot be held strictly liable. Furthermore, celebrities (and currently also influencers) are considered independent contractors who can only be held liable upon the production of evidence of wilful intent or gross negligence (Article 14(4) of the CDC).

Self-Regulation

All parties participating in the creative advertising process can be held liable at the level of industry self-regulation, receiving CONAR guidance according to their liability.

What is considered advertising in Brazil is extremely broad in scope, covering all forms of media including sales promotions, packages, point-of-sale materials, free samples in the domain of retail, labelling and slogans, sponsored messages on blogs, social media and product placement.

In principle, Brazilian legislation does not require pre-approvals from the government or other authorities before running advertising. However, for products regulated by a health authority, the use of efficacy claims is subject to notification and, in some cases, only claims pre-approved by the authority may be used on submission of a prior study that substantiates such claims (see 9.1 Regulated Products).

Copyright Law (Law 9,610/1998)

Music, drawings, photographs and graphical effects may only be used in advertising with the prior and express authorisation of the author to use their work (Articles 28 and 29), except in cases where the work is in the public domain (70 years from 1st of January of the year following the author’s death – Article 41), is from deceased authors who have not left successors or is that of an unknown author (Article 45).

Graphics – ie, fonts used for text messages applied in advertising communications – are also protected by copyright law, since they are considered as “software” or computer programmes.

Trade marks

Under Law 9.279/96, a competitor’s brand cannot be used in advertising (Article 130, III). The exception is comparative advertising focusing on a specific attribute of the compared product or service (see 4. Comparative Advertising and Ambush Marketing).

CONAR specifies the need to respect copyrights and also protects creativity and originality, condemning any advertisement based on plagiarism or imitation (Articles 38, 39 and 41).

CONAR is responsible for the supervision of advertising compliance under the CBAP. Self-regulatory rules, despite not being enforceable as law, bind all CONAR signatories, besides serving as a subsidiary source of law for judicial and administrative cases. The decision on the merits is rendered, on average, within 60 days, with the possibility of a preliminary injunction being granted – which will immediately be enforced by vehicles and advertisers.

Proceedings and Processing

Proceedings can be initiated either on CONAR’s own initiative or by its associates (advertisers, agencies and communication vehicles). Once the representation is instituted, the case is judged by one of the Ethics Council Chambers. Regardless of the result, a so-called ordinary appeal may be filed to the Special Appeal Chamber by the parties, the president of the Chamber or CONAR’s executive director.

A so-called extraordinary appeal is admitted only exceptionally, and may be filed by the losing party if (i) the decision rendered in the ordinary appeal was not unanimous (divergence) or (ii) it was based on an error resulting from procedural acts and documents.

Remedies

Should any advertisement be found in breach of CBAP rules, the Ethics Council may apply the following sanctions, cumulatively or otherwise:

• a warning to the advertiser and its agency, or even to a celebrity or influencer who has been hired;
• an amendment of, or change to, the advertisement;
• cessation of the advertising campaign and the subpoenaing of communication vehicles to discontinue display of the advert, for better enforcement of the remedy; and
• although unusual, disclosure of CONAR’s position to the public (through the media) regarding the advertiser, agency and vehicle, in the case of failure to enforce the recommended remedies and actions.

Advertising practices may be challenged by lawful consumer defence bodies – ie, the Public Attorney’s Office, the Program for Consumer Protection and Defense (Programa de Proteção e Defesa do Consumidor; PROCON) and SENACON – either on behalf of society or by individual consumers.

The civil liability that arises from deceptive or abusive advertising is a strict one, being based on enterprise risk theory. However, despite being strict, the duty to repair is not automatic, and the individual consumer must prove causation between the advertisement and the alleged damage, which must be concrete (and not potential, as in collective actions).       

In the past 12 months, there have been important developments in longstanding issues and cases. One example is the approval of Bill No 2,628/2022 (the “Digital ECA”, named after Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute, known as the ECA), which was already sanctioned by President Lula and, inter alia, imposes an outright ban on profiling-based targeting of minors and the use of emotion analysis, as well as augmented/extended/virtual reality (AR/XR/VR) techniques, for that purpose.

Another interesting development was the holding of public hearings throughout the year on topics that could have an impact on the regulation of deceptive advertising for foods and medicines, such as the public hearing by the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal; STF) to discuss the regulation of advertising for medicines and foods considered harmful to health, in the context of a relevant suit (the Direct Suit of Unconstitutionality – ADI 7788).

Regarding self-regulation, in 2025, CONAR case law has grappled with formats that reshape the concept of editorial control – eg, affiliate networks, creator programmes, employees’ LinkedIn posts, third-party content surfacing via “tagged” tabs and other non-traditional arrangements.

In the context of AI, which is constantly under discussion in Brazil, CONAR has ruled on several cases involving its use in advertising; among the main topics are deepfakes, failures in programmatic advertising of restricted products, inaccurate or misleading offers and ads engaging in stereotyping.

Brazil has a large and diverse population and enormous cultural richness. Brazilian advertising is marked by creativity, irreverence, humour and intelligence, and it often depicts diverse aspects of society. However, Brazilian audiences have proven highly judgmental with respect to inclusive and affirmative advertising, which is often misunderstood as being discriminator and perceived as segregating people or encouraging prejudiced attitudes.

Issues currently under the spotlight include advertisements of “ultra-processed” and high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods, as well advertising aimed at children – especially in digital spaces. Concerns in this regard motivated the approval of the Digital ECA, as well as the publication of Resolution 245/2024 of the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente; CONANDA) in April 2024, which sets forth rights for children and adolescents in the digital space, taking a more restrictive stance.

Misleading advertising is defined in Article 37(1) and (3) of the CDC as messaging that may deceive consumers as to the features of the advertised product or service (ie, its nature, quality, quantity, properties, origin, price or any other aspect), by omission or any other means (eg, ambiguity and/or inaccuracy).

The CDC defines advertising that is deceptive by way of omission as that which fails to inform consumers of “essential information” related to the advertised product or service. Essential information may refer to the terms of an offer or the conditions of – or constraints on – the enjoyment of a good or service. The deceptive potential of an advertisement must be examined and accurately measured according to the impression that it creates (or may create) on its target audience.

The regulation of deceptive advertising is not restricted to the content. Advertisements that mask their commercial nature may be declared misleading due to breach of the principle of identification (Article 36 of the CDC).

The CDC does not regulate specific claims or advertising techniques. However, all advertising must adhere to the principles of truthfulness, honesty and non-abusiveness. Moreover, certain sectors are subject to specific regulations (see 9.1 Regulated Products).

Article 36 of the CDC establishes the principle of “transparency” and requires advertisers to retain supporting factual, technical and scientific data. The scope of this legal requirement means that the burden of proof is on advertisers regarding the veracity of their claims.

The same rule is provided in Article 27(1) of the CBAP, compelling advertisers and agencies to provide factual, technical or scientific evidence regarding any comparisons or descriptions whenever requested.

Testing

Neither Brazilian law nor self-regulatory rules establish specific standards for testing advertising claims; such analysis is done on a case-by-case basis. The law only requires that comparative ads claiming effectiveness or differences relative to market competitors be supported by testing (prior to the campaign), and the source (eg, a survey) of the claim must be referenced in the advertisement, even if in a footnote.

CONAR has recognised, on several occasions, the validity of campaigns that use product demonstrations (“demos”) as a visually entertaining way to highlight a benefit offered by a product, as long as the highlighted benefit is duly supported and proven by clinical testing. Demos are recognised as a creative and valid resource to inform the consumer, through dramatisation, of a scientifically proven benefit, rendering technical information easy to understand for the average consumer.

Testimonials are defined by CONAR as depositions, endorsements or certifications whereby an individual or legal entity, other than the advertiser, gives an opinion or reports its own experience or observations in relation to a product (Exhibit Q of the CBAP). According to this definition, the classifications are as follows:

• the testimonial of a specialist/expert;
• the testimonial of a famous person;
• the testimonial of a lay-person or consumer; and
• a certification or endorsement issued by a legal entity reflecting its official opinion.

Testimonial messages must truly reflect the benefits proclaimed, as well as the individual’s real impressions. Testimony does not exempt the supplier from proving the veracity of any claims made in an ad.

Self-Regulation (Exhibit U of the CBAP)

Exhibit U of the CBAP states that advertising must reflect the advertiser’s liability towards the environment and sustainability, and must be guided by the principles of concreteness, veracity, accuracy and clarity, proof and sources, pertinence and relevance; it must also be free from absolute claims.

Companies should advertise only pertinent and relevant benefits with respect to the global impact of their activities, and avoid conveying messages pertaining to absolute advantages since it is impossible to fully annul environmental impacts.

The CDC is also applied in cases where an environmental claim is found to be misleading – by deceiving the consumer about the real environmental impact of the advertised product – or lacks adequate support with respect to its veracity (substantiation).

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) Global Guidance on Environmental Claims, translated and published in 2022 by the Brazilian Association of Advertisers (ABA), highlights important concepts and parameters applicable to environmental claims.

An advertisement must be clearly identified as such, regardless of its type or the broadcasting medium (Article 28 of the CBAP). When the advertisement’s nature is not evident due to the context, it is necessary to include disclosures.

The CBAP states that an advertisement in newsprint, article, news, text caption or any other form published upon payment of a given amount shall be properly distinguished from editorial content (Article 30).

With respect to social media, where it is difficult to distinguish advertisements from editorial content, written disclosure is strongly recommended through the appropriate means provided by the platforms, and also by the user through the use of hashtags (#advertising, #paid partnership, etc).

HFSS Food Labelling

Brazilian legislation regulates claims on food labelling in a specific manner. Collegiate Board Resolution (Resolução da Diretoria Colegiada (RDC)) 429/20 and Normative Instruction (Instrução Normativa (IN)) 75/20 introduced new rules for the front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labelling of packaged foods, and for nutritional claims. It is currently mandatory to adopt FOP labelling for foods that have high added sugar, saturated fat and sodium contents, in accordance with the criteria established in Article 18, et seq, of RDC 429/20 and Annex XV of IN 75/20, through the use of a specific image to communicate high content of such nutrients.

Nutritional Claims

The criteria defined in legislation (RDC 429/20 and Annexes XIX–XXI of IN 75/20) must be adhered to when communicating about high or low nutrient content and/or energy (“source”, “rich in”, “high content”, “low”, “very low”, “does not contain”, “no added”, “zero”, etc), and when making comparative nutritional claims, etc.

The health surveillance legislation also contains principles-based rules, established mainly in RDC 727/22, which restrict communication regarding food additives, in addition to other communications that, although not expressly regulated, can be monitored by health surveillance bodies and/or consumer protection agencies in terms of veracity and the possibility of misleading consumers regarding the real nature, composition, origin, type, quality, quantity, validity, food yield/portions or uses of a food.

Geographical Origin

Geographical origin-related restrictions are established by RDC 727/22, and by the Industrial Property Law (Law 9,279/1995).

Claims With Health Appeal

Although Brazil does not have specific regulations for generic claims, there are several restrictions pertaining to the correctness and veracity of the expression of such claims, as the authorities understand that generic claims lacking support are liable to mislead consumers.

Regarding food for which functional properties are claimed, please see 9.1 Regulated Products. Regarding environmental claims, please see 2.6 Environmental Claims.

There are no specific rules in Brazil addressing stereotypes, inclusion, diversity and equity in advertising. However, the Brazilian Federal Constitution (Article 5) and the CDC (Law 8,078/1990, Article 37, Section 2) prohibit any type of discrimination.

In the same vein, CONAR provides that no advertisement shall encourage or stimulate any type of offence related to racial, social, political, religious or national discrimination (Articles 20 and 37(1)(b)), and that advertisements shall be created within the scope of the Brazilian social and cultural context (Article 27, Section 6(c) of the CBAP).

Children are defined by the Child and Adolescent Statute (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente; ECA) as people up to 12 years old. Marketing to children is regulated in Brazil by Article 37(2) of the CDC, which establishes that advertising that takes advantage of children’s less developed judgment and limited experience is abusive. Despite the CDC prohibiting only abusive advertising, decisions have been rendered by the STJ against “gift with purchase” promotions that grant gifts in the food sector.

Brazil’s National Congress recently approved the Digital ECA, as noted in 1.9 Regulatory and Legal Trends. Concerning advertising, the Bill imposes an outright ban on profiling-based targeting of minors and the use of emotion analysis, as well as AR/XR/VR techniques, for that purpose.

Regarding self-regulation, CONAR provides a detailed list of rules to ensure that messages aimed at children are appropriate and respect their status as “developing persons”. Besides dedicating a specific section of its Code (Article 37, et seq, of the CBAP) to children and teenagers, Annex H of CONAR also provides several rules concerning the marketing of food to children.

Moreover, CONAR’s Guidelines hold that advertisements must consider the target audience. The Self-Regulation Guidelines introduce a specific rule stating that messages must be identifiable and distinct from the rest of the content (Item 1.1); simply using hashtags (#) is not sufficient. For effective “material disclosure” in advertisements featuring audio and video elements, it is recommended that both written and verbal forms be used for identifying the advertising, as these are more easily noticed by children.

There is no special law, regulation or guide that deals with dark patterns in advertising in Brazil. However, CONAR has already judged several cases involving the use of dark patterns in advertising, condemning advertisements based on misleading messages that could manipulate consumers. Such cases are also addressed by the CDC, which condemns any type of abusiveness or exploitation of a consumer’s lack of experience.

There are no specific rules for sponsor ID and branded content. Therefore, the general principle of advertising identification is applied: if a commercial element and brand are involved, their relation must be clear to consumers.

In Brazil, all advertising content must be identified as such. Native advertising (ie, advertising that resembles editorial content) must follow overall CDC and CONAR rules and principles, and cannot hide its commercial nature on penalty of being declared deceitful according to the presentation format (hidden advertising).

CONAR’s Guidelines reinforce the principle of identification provided for in the CDC and in self-regulation law.

General Requirements of Comparative Advertising

The CDC does not expressly mention comparative advertising, and this advertising technique is not prohibited. CONAR, however, has opted to expressly regulate comparative advertising, recognising it as customary market practice (Article 32 of the CBAP).

Comparative advertising should be used only in relation to goods and services of the same type or nature. CONAR further reinforces that the main purpose of comparative advertising should be to provide consumers with information. Therefore, any comparison should be based only on objective and provable data, and must rest on one or more fundamental elements of the comparative product or service, thus increasing the information available to the consumer.

All comparative ads must be supported by technical data and satisfy the following criteria:

• always objective and verifiable;
• not aimed at causing confusion with respect to distinguishing between brands;
• not disparaging towards a competing product or brand; and
• not taking undue advantage of another company’s brand (parasitism).

As long as a comparison is true, objective and verifiable with respect to one or more essential elements of a product or service, expressly identifying the competing brand in the advertisement is authorised. The direct comparative campaign ran by Rayovac can be highlighted here; it accentuated Rayovac batteries’ purported superior durability and lower price than those of Duracell, which was regarded by the STJ as pursuant to consumers’ interests (REsp 1.668.550). CONAR has also ruled – in several cases of direct comparative advertising – that proof and substantiation are needed for comparative claims.

Comparative advertising, however, cannot denigrate a competitor’s brand or image – as occurs, for example, when an advertiser alludes to personal circumstances of a competitor that are unrelated to the compared products or services, or uses offensive expressions or images.

Competitors may challenge the content of comparative advertising before both CONAR and the courts – in the latter case by filing unfair competition lawsuits (Law 9,279/96). Remedies regularly claimed include cessation of the advertising and claims for damages – both moral and material – for trade mark infringement.

One of the most recent leading cases in the Brazilian food industry concerns misleading and comparative advertising displayed at one of the world’s largest processed food fairs, where the discussion has expanded to digital media. The advertisement in question compared the new Heinz mayonnaise to the market leader (Hellmann’s, owned by Unilever), alleging a superior production process (“100% cold process”) that would yield a “fresher and creamier” product (compared to other processed mayonnaises). The lawsuit is based on Heinz’s failure to substantiate the alleged superiority and demonstrate that the 100% cold process would provide a fresher and creamier mayonnaise.

The first law that addressed ambush marketing in Brazil was the General World Cup Law (Law 12,663/2012), created specifically to regulate major International Federation of Association Football (Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)) sporting events that took place in Brazil between 2013 and 2014. This Law provided for the practice of ambush marketing by association or intrusion. However, following the conclusion of the events, such provisions are no longer in force.

This topic, however, has already been addressed within the scope of CONAR’s self-regulation, through Article 31 of the CBAP, which condemns undue and illegitimate advertising profits obtained through means of “ride” and/or “ambush” – ie, through invasion of the editorial or commercial space of a communication vehicle.

CONAR treats the issue of ambush marketing broadly, protecting sponsors of all major events and not just those of sporting events – see Representations 73/24 (Lollapalooza Music Festival), 33/23 (Carnaval), 247/22 (FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022) and 191/23 (alluding to sponsored soccer teams).

More recently, the General Sports Law (Law 14,597/2023) was enacted, introducing a definition of ambush marketing by association or intrusion (Articles 170 and 171) as well as reproducing the rule already introduced by CONAR (Article 160, Section 5º). This Law, however, focuses on the sports sector, being applied by analogy and associated with self-regulation in other sectors (concerts, parties, music festivals, etc).

The same CDC and CBAP principles are applicable to both traditional and digital media, including (i) identification of the advertising message as such by consumers; (ii) veracity; and (iii) the requirement for messages to respect constitutional social values and their target audience.

In 2021, CONAR issued the Guidelines, which contain instructions to help with the application of the CBAP’s rules to the commercial content generated by social media users known as “digital influencers”.

The advertiser’s liability for content posted by third parties on their brand website or a social network depends on the relationship established between them. According to CONAR’s Guidelines and precedents, not only payment, but also a commercial relationship, characterise paid advertising.

Whenever there is a commercial relation or paid advertising, the advertiser is, directly or indirectly, liable for the posted content.

CONAR also establishes that if a company shares or makes use of organic content from a third party (ie, spontaneously created content) that mentions its brand or product, this new content – be it endorsed, shared or adapted by the company – becomes new content of an advertising nature and must therefore comply with the rules of the CBAP. It is noteworthy that companies cannot share or endorse irregular organic content, even if it is neither contracted nor solicited.

The major problem, from a legal standpoint, remains those cases where there is no relationship between the brand and influencer, but where the content – which was never shared by the brand – ends up being erroneously considered as an advertisement, and the brand is held liable (as if it was the advertiser) for spontaneous content under the exclusive responsibility of a third party.

In social media, written disclosure is strongly recommended through the appropriate means provided by the platforms (eg, paid partnership), and also by the user, for instance by using the hashtags #advertising, #advertisement, #sponsored, #paid content and #paid partnership.

CONAR’s Guidelines also clarify that, depending on the context, the following expressions do not clearly convey the commercial relationship between an influencer and an advertiser: #ambassador, #partner, #brandXYZ, #collaboration and #colab. Moreover, the Guidelines recommend that, for gifts or activation messages, the following hashtags should be used: #gifted/#received; [trip/show/event] invited by [brand]; Thanks to [brand] for [product, trip, invitation]; and #promotion, #promo [activated upon awarding gifts or prizes].

For children, as indicated in 3.2 Children, there must be a more robust disclosure, preferably in written and oral form.

New communication arrangements were analysed by CONAR, who declared that disclosure of the fact that social media content is an ad is required where applicable, similar to the cases of discount coupons and affiliate links. Discussions about “creator programmes” on social media have also begun.

Law 12965/2014 (the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet) provided general rules for social media platforms concerned with keeping connection records and removing improperly labelled content of third parties. In detail, the internet application provider should:

• keep confidential records of connections to internet applications in a secure environment for a period of six months; and
• be held civilly liable for third-party content only in cases of non-compliance with a court order to remove content identified as infringing on rights.

Besides this regulation, the General Data Protection Law (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados; LGPD) is applicable to social media platforms, without prejudice to the applicability of the CDC or of the criminal law against libel and torts in connection with defamatory or slanderous messages and “fake news”.

In addition, the Supreme Court issued a thesis (in the context of Issues (Temas) 533 and 987 of general repercussion) in July 2025 defining the responsibility of social media platforms for content, which was not previously set forth in Law 12965/2014. The thesis increases the accountability of social media platforms – through transparency measures – to improve dialogue and responsivity to demands from civil society and Brazilian authorities, such as to remove irregular content through the simple “notice and take down” procedure, which was not applied previously.

No specific rule is applicable to email marketing. However, general consumer protection rules that prohibit abusive marketing are applicable (Articles 6(IV) and 39(IV) of the CDC).

Thus, email addresses may only be collected for marketing purposes with the consumer’s explicit consent, and consumers must be provided with an opt-out option. Furthermore, consumer addresses cannot be shared with third parties without prior consent. The liability for any violations under the current rules follows the overall civil and consumer liability regime. The criteria for personal data use and processing, as well as the liability regime for unlawful acts, will be strengthened by the LGPD, which recently came into force.

Self-Regulation

In 2019, telecommunications companies, jointly with the National Telecommunications Agency (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações; ANATEL, the regulatory agency), launched the Não Me Perturbe (“Don’t Disturb Me”) subscription platform, which allows consumers (via a website) to exclude their number from land and mobile telephony, TV and internet service providers’ databases – an initiative to tackle abusive marketing and provide opt-out options.

Specific Laws

At the federal level, ANATEL Resolution 632/2014 established that consumers of telephone, paid TV and internet services are entitled not to receive advertising messages on their mobile platforms in the absence of prior, free and express consent.

In 2023, ANATEL published the New General Regulation on Consumer Rights for Telecommunications Services (Resolution 765/2023, effective from September 2025), which in addition to the above-mentioned rule, classifies as “irregular use of telecommunications” massive call volumes (ie, those exceeding human capacity), calls with no intention of effectively communicating and calls that make it difficult to identify the caller, among other types of calls. Infractions of these rules will subject offenders to the administrative sanctions of Law 9,472/1997, as well as to ANATEL’s Administrative Sanctions Application Regulation.

At the state level, several laws provide for telephone number registration (often managed by state PROCONs) to block product or service telemarketing calls.

Finally, the LGPD provides for specific obligations regarding consent, conditions for data processing and liability resulting from data processing failures, which will significantly increase in future.

Text messages are governed by the CDC principle that prohibits abusive marketing aimed at consumers (Articles 6(IV) and 39(IV) of the CDC).

ANATEL Resolutions 632/2014 and 765/2023 establish that consumers of telephone, cable TV and internet services are entitled to not receive advertising messages on their mobile platforms in the absence of prior, free and express consent. Moreover, several initiatives at the state level (in Paraná, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, etc) take into account opt-out registrations – ie, consumers who no longer wish to receive active telemarketing calls and/or messages can opt-out therefrom, whereas those who are interested in receiving such communications (where it could be in their best interest, having had a previous relationship with a given brand or company) may continue to receive them. There will be penalties only for those companies that disregard the expressed wishes of the consumer. Finally, upon the LGPD coming into force, further discussions will arise about consent and the supplier’s lawful interest in data collection and processing.

General rules, both in the CDC and in the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, are applicable to the consent needed for personal data collection, storage and transfer (Article 7(IX), Law 12968/2014), and the LGPD also reinforced the need for consent for data collection and processing. Accordingly, only the data subject – if they wish and when asked explicitly and unequivocally – can authorise their information to be used by companies and public bodies offering products and services, whether free or otherwise. However, consent is not the only basis that could enable a company to use personal data for advertising purposes: companies may also rely on legitimate interest, provided for in Articles 7(IX) and 10 of the LGPD (where it could be in the legitimate interest of the data holder to receive certain advertisements, for instance from companies and/or brands with which it had a prior relationship). When considering using legitimate interest as a legal basis for processing personal data, it is essential that the company performs a legitimate interests assessment (LIA), through which it will be able to assess whether or not it is possible to evoke legitimate interest in the case in question.

One important development was the approval in August 2025 of the Digital ECA, which, with respect to advertising, imposes an outright ban on profiling-based targeting of minors and the use of emotion analysis, as well as AR/XR/VR techniques, for that purpose.

Collection or Use of Personal Information From Children

The LGPD (Law 13,709/2018) provides a specific section (Article 14) pertaining to how children’s personal data should be treated, considering their best interests and with the specific and express consent of at least one parent or legal guardian (Paragraph 1). For the purposes of this Law, information concerning an identified or identifiable natural person is considered personal data (Article 5(I)).

Under the principles of child protection, children’s data should not be collected without parental consent, let alone to target them via media “that interests them” or is based on their “browsing habits”.

Liability for Violation of the Rules

Articles 56 and 57 of the CDC provide for penalties that may be applied in case of violation of the foregoing rules, notably including a fine of up to BRL13 million.

The penalty provided for in the LGPD is a fine amounting to 2% of the relevant company’s turnover (limited to BRL50 million). Furthermore, among other sanctions, the law also states that any infringement may be subject to publication after its assessment and verification.

Apart from the general rules for consumer protection set forth in the CDC, the LGPD and the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, the Brazilian Federal Constitution also provides for the general right to privacy (thus not limited to advertising), ensuring the right to compensation for material or moral damage resulting from its violation (Article 5(X)).

Under Law 5768/71 and Decree 70951/72, any plan for the free distribution of prizes as a form of advertising that involves luck must be submitted for prior approval of the competent government agency. Currently, this approval is centralised in the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas; SPA) of the Ministry of Finance.

Several types of commercial promotion are subject to registration, including:

• raffles where the consumer meets a certain requirement (eg, the purchase of products), receives a “lucky number” (which is randomly, equitably and concurrently assigned) and can win as per the results of the federal lottery;
• contests where the winner is defined based on performance (eg, submitting the “best” photo/video) and competitions of any nature (eg, where the winner is the first person to buy a particular product); and
• gift certificates where the reward is instantaneous.

Recently, Ordinance 7,638/2022, issued by the Secretariat for Economic Monitoring (Secretaria de Acompanhamento Econômico; SEAE), provided additional rules on the free distribution of prizes for advertising purposes through a draw, gift certificate, contest or similar modality, as referred to in Law 5,768/1971 and Decree 70,951/1972.

Brazilian laws distinguish between contests of skill and games of chance. Whenever luck is involved, the company must secure prior authorisation. An exception to this rule is the exclusively cultural, artistic, sporting or recreational contest, insofar as it does not involve any type of risk, require payment from competitors/participants or bind such competitors/participants (or the winners) to the acquisition or use of any good, right or service. Such contests are intended only to reward artistic or sporting talent – or simply to serve as leisure activities with no commercial connotations.

Promotions that involve luck (raffles, gift certificates, contests or similar schemes) must be authorised a priori by the SPA. There are extensive mandatory documentation and accountability requirements. In brief:

• authorisation must be procured online at least 120 days before the promotion starts;
• an inspection fee must be collected, the amount of which varies according to the value of the promotional prizes;
• after the commercial promotion ends, the company must report to the SPA within 30 days after delivering all prizes or collecting the amount corresponding to prizes that were not delivered, if applicable; and

• once the accountability report is approved, the procedure is shelved.

Free offers like “buy one, get one free” are covered in Informative Note 11/2018, which establishes the basis under which prior registration of the promotion is mandatory.

The CDC (Article 39(III)) establishes that sending or delivering products, or providing services, to consumers without prior consent is an abusive practice. Consequently, even if a contractual relationship has been established a priori to send products or provide services continuously (for a fee), to avoid allegations of abusive practice and related penalties, the prior and express consent of the consumer should be procured for the renewal.

Except for a regulation on electoral advertisements (Resolution 23,610/2019 of the Superior Electoral Court, which provides for restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in such advertisements), there is no legislation in Brazil that specifically regulates the use of AI, either in general or specifically in connection with the development of advertising content. Moreover, there are bills currently under discussion aimed at regulating AI in Brazil, such as Bill 2338/2023, which proposes general rules for the development, implementation and use of AI systems in Brazil, and Bill 4/25, currently before the Senate, which aims to modify the Civil Code in relation to several subjects, including AI.

It is worth highlighting the following self-regulation initiatives.

• In August 2023, CONAR took on its first prominent case involving AI – a complaint against an advertising campaign by Volkswagen that featured an AI-generated likeness of the famous singer Elis Regina, who died in the 1980s, singing a song with her daughter. CONAR concluded that there was no obligation to include information to clarify that the content of the advertisement had been generated by AI, considering the use of AI to be self-evident in this case; thus, it closed the proceeding without penalties.
• In 2024 and 2025, CONAR heard several cases involving AI, particularly regarding the fraudulent use of deepfakes and misleading advertising.
• Ads that used stereotypical AI-generated images (which reinforced ableism) or could lead to social washing were rejected.
• CONAR also heard cases involving programmatic advertising failures, where ads were targeted at an audience over 18 years of age, as well as cases of restricted advertising where the AI failed in its targeting efforts.

Finally, it also reviewed cases involving inaccurate or potentially misleading ads based on AI-generated images.

Notwithstanding the non-existence of special rules in Brazil related to making claims that a product was developed using AI, is powered by AI or has AI-related capabilities, a claim has already been submitted before CONAR concerning the use of AI in an advertisement (by Volkswagen, as mentioned in 7.1 AI & Advertising Content). Claims have also been made in relation to programmatic advertising, deepfakes, stereotypical ads using AI-generated images and inaccurate offers.

There are no special rules or guidance in Brazil specifically on the use of chatbots. However, the use of chatbots must abide by the general rules on personal data protection, provided for in Law 13,709/2018 of the LGPD, considering that chatbots often involve the collection of personal data – which requires the explicit consent of the users in several instances. Furthermore, there is a bill still under discussion (Bill 2,338/2023) that provides stricter guidelines on the use of chatbots, enhancing transparency and personal data protection.

Since 22 December 2022, Law 14,478/2022 (the Legal Framework for Crypto Assets) has been in force in Brazil, setting forth guidelines to be observed in relation to the provision of virtual asset services and the regulation of virtual asset service providers. It establishes that the provision of virtual asset services must comply with certain principles, such as the protection and defence of consumers and users (Article 4(IV)), and that the provisions of the CDC apply to transactions conducted on virtual assets markets – which means that the CDC could also be applied to advertisements in the crypto-asset market.

As yet, there are no special laws or regulations in Brazil on advertising within the metaverse. However, there is some general legislation that must be adhered to concerning several aspects of the metaverse, especially Law 13,709/2018 (the LGPD); this law is relevant to the metaverse considering the possibility of the collection of personal data from users. In addition, Law 12,965/2014 (the Internet Civil Framework) provides for the freedom of expression of users, the right to privacy and network neutrality. A bill before the National Congress (Bill 2,175/2023) providing for a regulatory framework for the metaverse is still in early-stage discussions.

In practice, CONAR has been applying the same principles as in the CBAP, namely the transparency of information and non-abusiveness of the message. CONAR has ruled on cases involving advergames in the metaverse mainly directed towards children, requiring such games to be modified because of an excessive appeal to consumption.

Alcohol

A distinction is made between drinks with a high alcohol content (>13 Gay-Lussac (°GL); eg, spirits, vodka, gin, whiskey and rum) and drinks with a low alcohol content (≤13°GL; eg, beers, wines and ices).

Drinks with low alcohol content

Products under Exhibit P (beers and wines) and Exhibit T (ices and similar beverages) of the CBAP are subject to Brazilian self-regulation. CONAR regulates the advertising of these products, establishing the need to include a warning clause (eg, pertaining to avoiding excess consumption and the prohibition of use for those under 18), ensure the protection of children and adolescents, and follow the principle of responsible consumption.

Drinks with high alcohol content

The basic obligations for high-alcohol-content drinks are the same as those for low-alcohol-content drinks, albeit with additional restrictions on the former provided for in Law 9,294/1996 (the “Murad Law”), which sets forth restrictions on the broadcasting hours of advertisements thereof (prohibited between 6am and 9pm). Exhibit A of the CBAP reinforces and complements the restrictions provided for in the Murad Law.

Tobacco

The Murad Law prohibits the advertising of cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, pipes or any other smoking products, regardless of whether they are derived from tobacco, with the sole exception of the display of said products in sales outlets if accompanied by the previously established warning clauses (Article 3). Exhibit J of the CBAP reinforces the restrictions provided by the Murad Law.

Vaping/Electronic Smoking Devices

The commercialisation, manufacture and advertising of these devices are prohibited by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA)). Nevertheless, the regulation of electronic smoking devices (“vapes”) is a hot topic in Brazil and has been widely discussed since the presentation of Bill 5,008/2023, which intends to authorise the consumption, production, commercialisation, export and import of these devices as well as to regulate the control, inspection and advertising of vapes.

Cannabis

ANVISA RDC 327/2019 prohibits any advertising of cannabis products. The display for sale in Brazil of such products, such as via advertisements on internet sites, is also prohibited.

Drugs

RDC 96/2008 of ANVISA regulates advertising and other practices for which the objective is the dissemination or commercial promotion of medicines. The resolution establishes that only the advertising of medicines regulated by ANVISA under the terms of Law 6,360/1976 is permitted (Article 3). For the general public, advertising is only permitted for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Medicines that require a medical prescription can only be advertised to healthcare professionals (doctors/dentists or pharmacists).

Self-regulation also brings specific rules for the advertising of medicines, provided for in Exhibit I (OTC pharmaceutical products) of the CBAP.

Food With Functional Property Claims

Under Decree-Law 986/69, Resolutions 18/99 and 19/99, and RDC 727/22 of ANVISA, a food can be considered to possess a functional property if it has a metabolic or physiological role, whether nutrient- or non-nutrient-related, in the growth, development, maintenance and other normal functions of the human body (eg, foods containing probiotics; prebiotics; dietary fibres or oligosaccharides; antioxidants; vitamins A (carotenoids), C (ascorbic acid) or E (tocopherol); flavonoids; phenolic acids; or fatty acids including omega 3, omega 6 and conjugated linoleic acid).

Functional claims for these foods can only be made if they have already been authorised by ANVISA, and only in exactly the same terms. If the supplier wishes to communicate about functional properties that are not already approved, they must request pre-authorisation from ANVISA.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Brazilian health surveillance legislation regulates advertising claims for vitamin and mineral supplements, which must be fully recognised and authorised a priori by ANVISA (Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde/Ministério da Saúde (SVS/MS) Ordinance 32/1998).

Medical Devices

Advertising of medical devices may be carried out, with restrictions, under the terms of RDC 751/2022 of ANVISA.

Products for Early Childhood

The Brazilian Standard for the Marketing of Food for Infants and Toddlers, Nipples, Pacifiers and Bottles (Norma Brasileira de Comercialização de Alimentos para Lactentes e Crianças de Primeira Infância, Bicos, Chupetas e Mamadeiras; NBCAL) is a set of standards that regulates the commercial promotion and labelling of foods and products intended for newborns, infants and children up to three years of age. Its objective is to ensure the appropriate use of these products so that there is no interference in the practice of breastfeeding, subject to penalties under Law 6347/77 and the CDC.

The insertion of a product or brand in entertainment content (product placement) is a permitted advertising practice in Brazil if it is made clear – whether at the beginning or end of the transmission, videoclip or game – that the content constitutes advertising.

Betting

Law 14,790/2023 (the new sports betting law) regulates sports betting advertising and the taxation of such bets. Self-regulation also has specific rules (Exhibit X in the CBAP). In September 2025, CONAR and the SPA of the Ministry of Finance signed a co-operation agreement to strengthen oversight and promote greater responsibility in respect of advertising campaigns for fixed-odds betting and commercial promotions. Furthermore, the recently approved Digital ECA imposed an obligation on platforms to prevent and mitigate access to – and exposure of – children and adolescents to advertising, promotions and marketing for gambling/betting by removing such content (Article 6, Part IV and Article 22, Section 1 of the Digital ECA).

Crop Protection Products

The advertising of crop protection products (agricultural pesticides) must be restricted to programmes and publications aimed at farmers and livestock breeders, and must include a full explanation of their application, use precautions and consumption – and, whenever necessary, warnings about any harm resulting from their use (Article 220, Section 4º of the Brazilian Federal Constitution, Law 9294/96 and Decree 2018/96). Self-regulation also has specific rules, provided for in the CBAP (Exhibit R).

Medical Doctors, Hospital Services and Treatments

In 2023, the National Council of Medicine updated the rules on medical advertising through Conselho Federal de Medicina (CFM) Resolution 2,336/23, addressing the limits on advertising – especially in relation to social networks. Self-regulation also has specific rules (Exhibit G in the CBAP).