Impacts of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation on Digital Governance and Content Moderation in Mercosur

• Grant number: 25/02479-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Passini Mariano
• Grantee: Ana Beatriz Mação de Barros Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to analyze the development of proposals for the harmonization of national legislation on data protection and content moderation within the framework of Mercosur, taking into account the influence of European legislation, particularly the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It starts from the recognition that digital platforms pose new challenges to governance and the informational sovereignty of States, requiring coordinated responses among the bloc's member countries. The temporal scope covers the period from 2014, with the enactment of the Brazilian Internet Civil Framework (Marco Civil da Internet), to 2025. The research pays special attention to the contexts of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, investigating how these countries structure their digital policies and contribute to building a regional agenda focused on data protection, content moderation, and digital integration. At the institutional level, special emphasis is placed on GMC Resolution No. 37/19, already internalized, which establishes guidelines on data protection and serves as the basis for the Mercosur Digital Agenda. The Agenda, in turn, proposes a model of coordinated management through the Digital Agenda Group (GAD), which is responsible for the biennial action plans. The study seeks to analyze how normative standards in the region are developed and influenced by external actors, aiming to identify regulatory gaps and the various ongoing proposals in the region.