Digital Constitutionalism in Brazil: A Decade of Democratic Crisis and Technology-Driven Governance Dilemma (2013-2023)

Brazil’s rapid digital transition promised broader civic participation but instead deepened polarization, disinformation, and democratic erosion. This article examines how these dynamics produced a distinctive model of digital regulation, shaped not by legislatures or bureaucracies but by judicial activism. Interpreted through the framework of digital constitutionalism, Brazil’s regulatory trajectory reveals an attempt to reassert rights, trust, and institutional balance in the face of platform power and algorithmic manipulation. By analyzing the Marco Civil da Internet, the General Law on the Protection of Personal Data (LGPD), the failed “Fake News Bill” (PL 2630), the “AI Bill,” the interventions of the Superior Electoral Court, and ongoing debates on AI legislation, the article shows how crisis-driven governance reshaped the country’s digital governance. The analysis is based on a five-pillar framework that is used to explain the Brazilian digital regulatory model. This model indicates that Brazil has developed its own traits of “digital constitutionalism” provided that the country’s regulations are reliant on a strong judicial activism that not only guarantees rights, but help to preserve democratic values, and maintain national sovereignty in the face of Big Techs. However, this experience illustrates both the risks of judicial overreach and the potential of constitutional principles to guide democratic resilience in the digital age. The article contributes to comparative debates by positioning Brazil as a Global South test case for rights-based digital governance.