The principle of private autonomy and the protection of the fundamental rights of children under the regulation of children’s advertising in Brazil

Abstract

Advertising is continually used as an ideological construction and directional tool which can influence the decision-making on services and product consumption. Child advertising, as a result, also has persuasive traits, however, it's targeted at a group of people that are still developing physically, morally, and psychologically, which maximizes its influence. With the international movement for the defense of overall child protection, especially with The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the assurances for children and teenagers' rights were globally consolidated with Brazil being a legislative highlight to this day with the creation of ECA - Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, CONANDA - Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente and the CDC - Código de Defesa do Consumidor; private actions are also noticeable with the arrival of specific legislation for advertising self-regulation such as the CONAR - Conselho Nacional de Autorregulamentação Publicitária. The Federal Constitution of 1988 enshrines the duty of protection of these young people by the State and society, however, regarding children's advertising, as it is not explicit in the Constitution, the limits of regulation of advertising campaigns targeted at this public are discussed, mobilizing the law in the struggle between press and freedom of expression principles on one hand and on the other hand protection of children and consumers. By means of legislative and jurisprudential research on allegations of abuse of this advertising category, this paper seeks to delimit the scope of the conflicting principles engendered in the possibilities of regulation in the face of the rise of the mass media in the light of international recommendations.(AU)