Key Takeaways
On Monday, Jan. 13, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a bill restricting the use of smartphones in schools.
The bill, which was approved by Brazilian lawmakers toward the end of last year, found broad support across the country’s otherwise divided legislature.
The new legislation aims to tackle the growing concern over how smartphones affect education and social behavior among students.
Under the law, the use of mobile devices will be prohibited during instructional hours in public and private schools, with exceptions for specific educational purposes or in emergencies.
Schools will also be required to provide alternative technological resources, such as computers or tablets, to facilitate modern learning where necessary. Schools that fail to enforce the new rules may face penalties.
The bill’s sponsors argued that the unregulated use of smartphones in classrooms has led to distractions, reduced academic performance, and increased incidents of cyberbullying.
Commenting on the new law , President Lula said: “We cannot allow humanism to be replaced by algorithms.”
The new legislation “acknowledges the work of every serious person in education [who] wants to take care of children and teenagers in this country,” he added.
The passage of the smartphone ban is noteworthy in a political climate where Brazil’s left- and right-wing parties are often at loggerheads.
Different political factions in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have put aside their differences to pass the legislation.
On other related matters, such as the Supreme Court’s decision to ban X last year, lawmakers from Lula’s Workers’ Party have clashed with the opposition. However, education has emerged as one of the few areas where consensus is achievable.
In both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate the bill passed with significant majorities.
An amendment that would have limited the ban to elementary and preschool students and one that would have mandated the use of CCTV cameras in classrooms was struck down in the Senate.
Both votes showcased a rare multipartisan agreement, with members of the Liberal Party, the Progressive Party, and Lula’s Workers’ Party voicing their support.
Brazil isn’t alone in its efforts to regulate smartphone use in educational settings.
Leading the charge, France introduced a nationwide ban on mobile phones in schools for students under 15 in 2018
Likewise, citing the need to protect young people’s eyesight, improve their concentration, and prevent internet addiction, China’s Ministry of Education issued a directive in 2021 prohibiting children from bringing phones to school without explicit parental consent.
In the U.S., some school districts have adopted local policies to limit smartphone usage. However, these efforts often face resistance due to differing regional priorities and legal frameworks.
The rise of such bans recognizes the need to manage children’s technology usage in educational settings.
It also aligns with a growing trend for prohibitive measures aimed at curbing young people’s technology usage, such as Australia’s looming ban on social media for under-16s.