October 20, 2026
On October 14, 2026, the Decree on Safe Digital Environments for Children and Adolescents (the “Decree”) was published in the evening edition of the Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación). It was issued by the President of Mexico based on, among others, Articles 101 Bis 2 and 101 Bis 3 of the General Law on the Rights of Children and Adolescents. The Decree entered into force on the date of its publication and is mandatory throughout Mexico. It is addressed to digital platforms, that is, online intermediary services that enable interaction, communication or content sharing among users, such as social networks, video games and app stores.
The Decree prohibits platforms from allowing children and adolescents to access, be exposed to or receive recommendations of content that promotes harassment and cyberbullying, sexual violence, hate speech, unlawful conduct, pornography, suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. To that end, platforms must implement reliable age verification mechanisms that are not limited to self-declaration; publish their age-rating, content moderation and removal criteria; immediately remove prohibited accounts or content; enable reporting and parental supervision mechanisms; ensure safety by design and activate the strictest available privacy and safety settings by default for new accounts; and carry out periodic risk assessments.
Platforms must designate a point of contact available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They must also preserve, for at least 90 business days, the digital evidence of removed accounts or content so that it is available to the competent authorities, and immediately inform such authorities of accounts or content that threaten the life, dignity, safety, integrity or privacy of children and adolescents.
In addition, platforms have a maximum of thirty calendar days from the Decree’s entry into force to document and report the actions taken to comply with it. This deadline expires in mid-November 2026.
Several of these obligations involve new processing of personal data: age verification without self-declaration may require official IDs or biometric technologies, which would involve processing sensitive personal data; parental supervision involves processing data of mothers, fathers or guardians; and evidence preservation and reporting to authorities involve retaining and transferring users’ information. As data controllers, platforms must align this processing with the Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties (the “LFPDPPP”). This entails, among other measures, reviewing the legal bases for processing, updating their privacy notices and adopting administrative, technical and physical security measures proportionate to the risk.
The Decree does not expressly designate a supervisory authority or provide for a sanctions regime. However, the Federal Government stated that the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency, whose head countersigned the Decree, will monitor compliance and that, if the Decree is not observed, a law on this matter will be promoted. In turn, the personal data processing arising from these obligations will remain subject to oversight by the Ministry of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance (Secretaría Anticorrupción y Buen Gobierno) under the LFPDPPP. Given the short deadline, we recommend starting a gap analysis as soon as possible and monitoring any guidelines the Agency may issue, as well as the proposals of the Working Group to be set up by the Office of the Federal Executive’s Legal Counsel.
Our Privacy and Personal Data Protection team remains at your disposal for any questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Adolfo Athié Cervantes
aathie@basham.com.mx
Renata Buerón Valenzuela
rbueron@basham.com.mx
Sources:
Diario Oficial de la Federación [Federal Official Gazette]. (2026, October 14). Decreto de entornos digitales seguros para niñas, niños y adolescentes [Decree on Safe Digital Environments for Children and Adolescents]. https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5801237&fecha=14/10/2026
Presidencia de la República [Office of the President]. (2026, October 14). Presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum firma decreto de entornos digitales seguros para niñas, niños y adolescentes [President Claudia Sheinbaum signs decree on safe digital environments for children and adolescents]. https://www.gob.mx/presidencia/prensa/presidenta-claudia-sheinbaum-firma-decreto-de-entornos-digitales-seguros-para-ninas-ninos-y-adolescentes