Who has never been enchanted by the ease of ordering food in just a few clicks, resolving a house move without leaving the sofa or watching a movie whenever you want? Digital life has accustomed us to the idea that everything can be at our fingertips. Digital platforms have transformed the way we live, work and consume, simplifying previously long and bureaucratic processes, making everyday life more efficient. Technology is no longer a luxury and has become everyday infrastructure: the invisible foundation that connects people and services, driving innovation that transforms the way we live and do business.
But every transformation brings discomfort. As technology replaces bureaucracies and creates new relationships, it also challenges regulations designed for an analogue world. And it is at this point that the greatest tensions between innovation and tradition arise.
Digital platforms have emerged as the biggest symbol of this transition. They stopped operating in isolated niches and became multisectoral ecosystems, capable of connecting, in the same space, different economic and social agents: companies, self-employed professionals, service providers and consumers. What was once a linear and hierarchical relationship (between those who offered and those who demanded) has become a living network of collaboration, where multiple interests coexist and balance each other.
Such platforms reduce friction, build trust and offer efficiency to all participants. In this type of model, the fees charged for digital services are not “additional”: they support the very existence of the digital experience, remunerating the investments that make it possible to operate at scale, with security, transparency and quality.
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Doing so is expensive. Behind every simple experience is a complex structure of technology, service, information security and regulatory compliance.
But consumers already understand this value. This change in mentality is already reflected in the way people consume. According to , carried out by Opinion Box, in partnership with Vindi, almost 70% of Brazilians say they are willing to pay for solutions that make everyday life easier, driven by convenience, efficiency, personalization and predictability.
The same reasoning appears in , which estimated the average value a user attributes to using Facebook for just one month at $48. Economists conclude that the real value of the digital economy lies in the benefits it generates (time, simplicity and trust), something that traditional measurement models, based only on price, cannot capture.
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Furthermore: the intermediation of services through digital means is supported by clear rules, which ensure transparency, responsibility and validity to contracts signed electronically. Ensuring this balance is essential for innovation to advance safely: preserving rights, but without stifling the freedom to create and compete.
The debate we need to have, therefore, is not about the “right to charge”, but about the right to innovate. About the space that Brazil wants to give to companies that are rethinking entire sectors — often replacing opaque and inefficient practices with more accessible, transparent and inclusive models.
Creating barriers to these innovations is, in practice, penalizing those who benefit most from them: users of digital platforms, which are today an essential part of the country’s economic and social infrastructure. They foster jobs, boost productivity and help build a more dynamic and connected business environment. Sustaining this ecosystem requires legal certainty and the understanding that the digital economy operates with different — but equally legitimate — logics from traditional relationships.
