Lula sanctions law that increases punishment for digital crimes against children

The law toughens the penalty for grooming when there is use of artificial intelligence (AI), deepfake, fake profiles, promise of an advantage or use of a relationship of trust.

The objective is to prevent criminals, especially sexual ones, from using technology to deceive and attract children to exploit and abuse them.

"Freedom of expression cannot be confused with genocide, violence, murder. This is the exercise of full democracy. No matter how much freedom we have, we have to have limits. And the limit is not to harm the freedom of others", said Lula.

The president also stated that it is the State's duty to take responsibility and create conditions of punishment for anyone who uses the various resources of the digital world and technology to commit crimes.

Increased penalties

For crimes of producing, reproducing, directing, photographing, filming or recording content of sexual violence against a child or adolescent, as well as its sale or exhibition, the penalty increases from 4 to 8 years of imprisonment to 4 to 10 years of imprisonment.

The penalty is increased by one third if the sale or exposure occurs via the internet and social networks.

In addition to these measures, the PL increases the punishment for anyone who offers, exchanges, makes available, transmits, distributes, publishes or disseminates material involving sexual violence against children or adolescents. The penalty in these cases goes from 3 to 6 years in prison to 4 to 10 years in prison.

The current penalty for anyone who acquires, possesses or stores this type of material is 1 to 4 years in prison. The project increases this punishment to 3 to 6 years in prison.

In all these cases, a fine was already foreseen in addition to imprisonment, and the sanctioned law maintained this provision.

Artificial intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence in the commission of crimes increases sentences by one third to two thirds. This increase in penalties is also applied to the use of deepfake (when technology realistically simulates a person's face and voice), fake profiles, online games and social networks to groom children and adolescents.

When a person takes advantage of a relationship of personal coexistence, authority, care or family life to commit violence against a child or adolescent, the penalty also increases by one third to two thirds.

Protection

In addition to criminal repression, the project contains measures to protect victims. The text provides that children and adolescents who are victims or witnesses of sexual violence will have the right to individual, specialized, continuous and comprehensive psychological and psychosocial care.