Mexico orders platforms to verify ages and report compliance in 30 days

Mexico orders platforms to verify ages and report compliance in 30 days

14 October 2026: A decree signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum and published in Mexico's official gazette on 14 October requires digital platforms, expressly including social networks, video games and app stores, to verify users' ages by means that go beyond self-declaration and to keep children and teenagers away from seven categories of harmful content. It took effect on publication, and platforms must document and report what they have done to comply within 30 calendar days, which falls on 13 November 2026.

Not yet independently verified. The decree sets no fines of its own, and it is not yet clear which authority will receive the platforms' compliance reports or how they will be assessed. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What platforms must keep from minors

Article 3 bars platforms from giving under-18s access to, exposing them to or recommending content that promotes harassment and cyberbullying; sexual abuse, exploitation or violence; hate speech, violent extremism or mass violence; user-to-user content inciting hate or violence, especially at school; unlawful conduct or praise of crime; pornography and sexually explicit material; and suicide, deliberate self-harm and eating disorders.

Nine obligations, starting with age checks

Article 4 lists what platforms must do: put in place reliable and secure age identification that is not limited to users declaring their age; publish their criteria for identifying and removing prohibited accounts and content, and for age classification and moderation; remove such accounts and content immediately; offer visible, always-available reporting tools; provide parental supervision; build in safety by design; switch on the strictest privacy and safety settings by default for new accounts; and assess periodically the risks from their design, features and recommendation systems, sharing statistical reports on harmful content trends with the authorities.

Article 5 adds law-enforcement duties: a specialised contact point available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, able to act technically at once on user content; preservation of digital evidence for at least 90 working days after an account or content is removed; and immediate alerts to the authorities about accounts or content that threaten the life, dignity, safety, integrity or privacy of minors.

A report due before the rules are finished

The fourth transitory article sets the only deadline: platforms must document and report their compliance measures within 30 calendar days of 14 October. The decree also tells the Federal Executive's legal counsel to set up a working group to draft further regulation, and El Economista notes that it carries no sanctions regime of its own. For trust and safety teams, the age assurance requirement is the expensive part: any service available to Mexican users that relies on a typed date of birth will need a stronger method, and the report due on 13 November is where the platform has to say which one.

Sources

• Diario Oficial de la Federación: Decreto de entornos digitales seguros para niñas, niños y adolescentes, 14 October 2026
• El Economista: cambios del decreto sobre redes sociales en México, explicados, 15 October 2026