Law No. 15,211/2025, known as the Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents, in force since March 17, 2026, has raised questions among educational institutions, especially regarding the use of official social media accounts. Many schools have begun to question whether they need to implement age verification, parental controls, or even suspend posts containing images of students. However, the legislation does not require schools to develop their own technological mechanisms for age verification or parental supervision on their institutional profiles. These obligations fall primarily on companies that provide information technology products and services, such as social media platforms, applications, games, and operating systems.
This does not mean that the school environment is outside the scope of the new law. The Digital Statute reinforces the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents in digital environments, in line with the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), with a focus on privacy, security, physical and mental health, protection against commercial exploitation, and exposure to inappropriate content. Accordingly, schools are expected to adopt standards of care compatible with the best interests of children and adolescents when producing and publishing content on their social media channels.
In practice, educational institutions must avoid any publication that exposes students in a humiliating, degrading, violent, or sexualized manner, as well as situations involving punishment, conflicts, bullying, accidents, illnesses, or other circumstances that may cause embarrassment. The law is also strict regarding any appearance of erotization or the insertion of children into the adult sexual sphere, which requires careful attention to poses, clothing, and the framing of images. Although the prohibition on monetization and boosting of eroticized content is directed at the platforms, the message is clear: content with a sexual connotation involving children and adolescents is incompatible with the protection regime.
The image of students, especially when associated with their name, uniform, and identification of the school, is considered personal data, protected by the LGPD and reinforced by the Digital Statute. The use of photos and videos in which a child or adolescent can be identified requires the consent of parents or legal guardians, in accordance with the best interests principle. For this reason, it is recommended that schools adopt specific and up-to-date image use authorization terms that expressly provide for use on social media, institutional websites, and other digital environments, defining purposes (institutional publicity, event records, campaigns) and formats (individual photos, group photos, videos), as well as ensuring the possibility of revocation at any time.
Em eventos escolares, como feiras, apresentações culturais ou atividades esportivas, é possível publicar imagens de alunos que possuam autorização válida, desde que preservado o contexto pedagógico e evitada a exposição de informações sensíveis, como dados de saúde ou desempenho escolar. Para alunos sem autorização, o mais adequado é utilizar imagens em plano aberto, que não permitam identificação, ou recorrer a recursos de edição, como desfoque dos rostos. É recomendável evitar a marcação de perfis pessoais de estudantes e a menção de nomes completos, priorizando descrições gerais das turmas e atividades.
The requirements for age verification and parental control are directed primarily at digital platforms, app stores, and operating systems, which must implement reliable mechanisms to verify age, link minors’ accounts to their guardians, offer supervision tools, and prevent the creation of consumer profiles for children. The school, as a user of these platforms, is not required to develop its own control systems. Its duty is to oversee the content it publishes and ensure the appropriate processing of students’ data and images.
With regard to liability, Law No. 15,211/2025 provides for sanctions primarily for providers of digital products and services that fail to comply with their obligations. Schools, however, remain subject to the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA), the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), the Civil Code, and the Consumer Defense Code. Publications that violate students’ rights – by exposing them to humiliation, disclosing intimate situations, or associating them with violence, illness, or other sensitive topics – may give rise to liability for moral damages and action by child protection authorities. The Digital Statute raises the expected standard of care for all agents operating within the digital ecosystem, which includes the institutional conduct of schools.
It is important to clarify that the new law does not require a complete suspension of publications involving children and adolescents. The decision not to publish any images of students is an internal zero-risk policy adopted by some institutions, but it is not a legal requirement. The legislation allows the continued dissemination of institutional content, provided it is based on informed consent, respect for dignity, data protection, and the possibility of reviewing or removing content upon request.