The National Government issued Decree 0769 of 2026, a key regulation of Law 2489 of 2025 that transforms the rules of the game in the Colombian digital environment to protect children and adolescents.
The norm establishes concrete obligations for technology platforms, social networks, application developers, schools, and families, setting a co-responsibility scheme without affecting freedom of expression.
Through this decree, Colombia seeks to address growing risks such as cyberbullying, child pornography, grooming (adults who impersonate children on networks to abuse them), screen addiction, and forced online recruitment by illegal groups, with the idea of reinforcing child protection measures.
The National Government issued Decree 0769 of 2026, a key regulation of Law 2489 of 2025 that transforms the rules of the game in the Colombian digital environment to protect children and adolescents.
Demands on social networks and the technology industry
Technology companies, social media providers (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube), digital platforms, and video game creators like Roblox or Fortnite operating in Colombia must adapt their products to the principle of security and privacy by design and by default.
Among the mandatory compliance measures are the elimination, blocking, and immediate reporting to the Prosecutor’s Office of any threat or child sexual exploitation or abuse material (CSAM), the implementation of effective age verification mechanisms in accordance with Law 1581 of 2012, and the integration of flexible, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-use parental controls.
Likewise, platforms must submit a semi-annual risk management report to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC), enable visible channels for complaints, and evaluate the impact of their recommendation algorithms to avoid biases or addictive habits that affect minors in the country. Screen addiction is a growing and concerning problem in several countries around the world.
Protection of children’s privacy in Colombia
The norm balances child protection with users’ constitutional guarantees, expressly prohibiting prior censorship, mass communication monitoring, and the weakening of end-to-end encryption in private messaging applications like WhatsApp.
Furthermore, the decree categorically prohibits commercial algorithmic profiling, the collection of biometric data, and the location tracking of minors for targeted advertising. In this way, state or private control tools must be governed by data minimization and anonymization, respecting the progressive autonomy of young people as they advance in their cognitive and social development.
Obligations for schools
The education sector plays a leading role in this regulatory framework. Educational institutions throughout the country must obligatorily update their Institutional Educational Projects (PEI) and Coexistence Manuals to incorporate prevention and comprehensive care routes against cyberbullying and digital violence, articulated with the National School Coexistence System.
In turn, schools must formalize digital mediation workshops for parents in family schools, while the Ministry of Education (MinEducación) will have the obligation to create a National Repository of Good Practices on the Colombia Aprende portal, a public, free space without advertising or mandatory registrations where the educational community will access pedagogical resources and safe-use tools.
Schools and educational entities will have to demonstrate and report to MinEducación that they comply with these provisions of the Decree, while parents will have the right to demand the implementation of these digital protection tasks for children.
Articulated monitoring and financing with FUTIC resources
To guarantee the effectiveness of the measures, the decree creates the Comprehensive System for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Technological Development, a data interoperability model between MinTIC, MinEducación, ICBF, MinJusticia, MinDefensa, and the Prosecutor’s Office.
This platform must integrate early warnings about online recruitment, cybercrimes, and digital violence by connecting with state platforms such as SIVIGILA, SPOA, and SIM. The financing of pedagogical, cybersecurity, and digital literacy programs for families and teachers can be executed with resources from the Single ICT Fund (FUTIC), while the Executive will report to the Congress of the Republic every February 6, coinciding with Safer Internet Day, on the general progress of the entire strategy for the protection of minors on the internet.
Participatory governance and accessible content
The governance of the new model will be supported by the National Committee for Technology, Childhood, and Adolescence, whose Technical Secretariat will be exercised by MinTIC. This space will feature operational technical tables and will include representation from children, youth, parent associations, the industry, and social organizations, guaranteeing differential ethnic and territorial approaches in rural areas or those affected by conflict.
Additionally, the Public Media System (RTVC) must broadcast educational content on safe digital citizenship in children’s and family time slots, incorporating accessible and inclusive formats for people with sensory or cognitive disabilities.
Operational transition and self-regulation instruments The decree establishes that within twelve months following its publication, MinTIC will define, by resolution, the technical concepts and the general public policy, in coordination with the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC). During this period, the signing of voluntary self-regulation agreements with large technology platforms will be promoted to accelerate the adoption of reporting channels and ethical standards.
It should be noted that media outlets and content providers with editorial control are exempt from operational burdens on software, preserving intact the freedom of the press and information.
With the entry into force of Decree 0769 of 2026, Colombia establishes a turning point in the regulation of a safe digital environment for children and adolescents, shifting the responsibility for child safety from the strictly family sphere to a systemic commitment between the State, the technology industry, and schools.
The success of this policy will depend on the speed with which MinTIC issues the pending technical guidelines and on the capacity of schools and companies to implement safe design standards without distorting access to knowledge and free expression on the network.
What are the novelties of Decree 0769 of 2026 on the protection of children and adolescents on the internet in Colombia?
- Immediate reporting channels: In cases of abuse, child pornography, or severe cyberbullying, activation of care routes is carried out immediately before the Attorney General’s Office, the ICBF, or the National Police (Virtual CAI).
- Free pedagogical repository: The Colombia Aprende portal will provide a free digital library, free of commercial ads and without requesting personal data, with guides and parental control resources.
- Update in schools: School coexistence committees must update their Coexistence Manuals and incorporate clear protocols for situations of cyberbullying or harassment on social networks.
- Protection against commercial tracking: Applications and platforms are prohibited from collecting biometric data, tracking location, or creating advertising profiles of minors.
- Privacy guarantee in chats: The norm protects private messaging services (such as WhatsApp); the State will not carry out mass surveillance or break end-to-end encryption.