MX Safe Digital Environments Decree
Decreto de entornos digitales seguros para niñas, niños y adolescentes (Decree on Safe Digital Environments for Children and Adolescents)
Mexican presidential decree, binding nationwide, that prohibits digital platforms from giving children and adolescents access to, exposure to or recommendations of seven listed content categories, including suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, and requires age assurance beyond self-declaration, parental supervision tools, strictest-by-default settings for new accounts, periodic risk assessments and a 24/7 law-enforcement contact point.
Jurisdiction
Mexico
Enacted
Oct 14, 2026
Effective
Oct 14, 2026
Enforcement
Federal Executive (decree co-signed by the Ministries of National Defence, Security and Citizen Protection, Public Education and Health, and the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications). The decree does not name an authority to receive the platforms' compliance reports.
Presidential decree signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on October 14, 2026 and published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación the same day (evening edition, publication No. 282/2026). In force on publication (Second Transitory Article). Platforms must document and report the actions taken to comply within 30 calendar days of entry into force (Fourth Transitory Article).
Diario Oficial de la Federación, evening edition, October 14, 2026 (No. 282/2026), pp. 3-5Why It Matters
Mexico's first nationwide binding instrument setting child-safety duties for digital platforms, including age assurance beyond self-declaration and duties concerning suicide and self-harm content. It was adopted by decree under existing federal child-rights law without a sanctions regime, and the follow-on working group may lead to legislation.
Recent Developments
Published and in force October 14, 2026. The 30-day documentation and reporting period ends November 13, 2026. The decree does not mention artificial intelligence; its platform definition centres on interaction and content sharing between users.
At a Glance
Applies to
Harms addressed
Who Must Comply
- Digital platforms: internet intermediary services that allow users to interact, communicate, generate, disseminate or share content, including social networks, video games and app stores (Article 2)
Obligations fall on:
Applicability thresholds:
Safety Provisions
- Platforms may not allow minors access to, exposure to or recommendation of content that generates or promotes harassment and cyberbullying; sexual abuse, exploitation or violence; hate speech, violent extremism or mass violence; user-to-user exchanges inciting hatred or violence, especially in schools; unlawful conduct or glorification of crime; pornography; or suicide, deliberate self-harm and eating disorders (Article 3)
- Reliable and secure age-identification mechanisms that are not limited to users' self-declaration (Article 4(I))
- Published criteria for identifying and removing prohibited accounts and content, and for age classification and age-based moderation (Article 4(II)-(III))
- Immediate identification and removal of accounts or content that generate or promote the prohibited categories (Article 4(IV))
- Accessible, visible and permanently available reporting tools for users (Article 4(V))
- Parental supervision mechanisms for minors' accounts (Article 4(VI))
- Safety and protection of minors by design, and the strictest available privacy and safety settings active by default on new accounts (Article 4(VII)-(VIII))
- Periodic assessment of risks from design, features, content recommendation systems and user interaction, with reasonable mitigation measures, and periodic statistical reports to authorities to inform mental-health prevention strategies (Article 4(IX))
- A specialised contact point for prosecutors and courts available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; preservation of digital evidence for at least 90 business days after removal; immediate alerts to national authorities about accounts or content threatening minors' life, dignity, safety, integrity or privacy (Article 5)
- Ministry of Health to run child and adolescent mental-health programmes and offer the 'Línea de la Vida' psychological support line (Article 6)
Compliance & Enforcement
Key Dates
Oct 14, 2026
Decree enters into force on publication in the Diario Oficial de la Federación
Nov 13, 2026
End of the 30-calendar-day period for digital platforms to document and report the actions implemented to comply with the decree (Fourth Transitory Article)
Penalties
The decree sets no sanctions regime. The Third Transitory Article instructs the Office of the Legal Counsel to the Federal Executive to convene an inter-agency working group to prepare regulatory proposals on protecting children's rights in digital environments.
View on map
Mexico
Focus Areas
Cite This
APA
Mexico. (2026). Decreto de entornos digitales seguros para niñas, niños y adolescentes (Decree on Safe Digital Environments for Children and Adolescents).
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Brazil ECA Digital
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Ofcom Children's Codes
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AU Online Safety Act
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CA Bill C-34 (Safe Social Media Act)
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UN/ITU AI & Child Rights Statement
Non-binding multilateral statement signed by thirteen UN and international organisations setting out principles for protecting children's rights in the design, deployment, and governance of AI systems, including provisions on harmful content, age assurance, transparency, and child-rights impact assessments.
Last updated October 18, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.