Brazil institute sues social media giants for $525 mln over usage by minors

Brazil’s Collective Defense Institute has filed two lawsuits from TikTok, Kwai, and Meta Platforms for allegedly failing to create mechanisms to prevent indiscriminate use of social media platforms by minors

Brazil’s Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, has filed two lawsuits from the Brazilian units of TikTok, Kwai and Meta Platforms. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Brazil's Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, has filed two lawsuits demanding 3 billion reais ($525.27 million) from the Brazilian units of TikTok, Kwai and Meta Platforms for allegedly failing to create mechanisms to prevent indiscriminate use of these social media platforms by minors, according to initial petitions reviewed by Reuters.

Why it’s important

Social media regulation has become a hot topic in Latin America's largest country after a months-long feud between X owner Elon Musk and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice resulted in the company paying hefty fines.

The lawsuits demand the companies create clear data protection mechanisms and issue warnings about the risks to children's and teenagers' mental health due to platform addiction.

The lawsuits are based on a series of studies on the possible damage caused by unsupervised use of social media, especially by children and teenagers.

"It is urgent that measures be adopted in order to change the way the algorithm works, the processing of data from users under 18, and the way in which teenagers aged 13 and over are supervised and their accounts created, in order to ensure a safer, healthier experience ... as is already the case in developed countries," said lawyer Lillian Salgado, one of the plaintiffs.

Meta Platforms said in a statement that it wants "young people to have safe and age-appropriate experiences on our apps, and we have been working on these issues for over a decade, developing more than 50 tools, resources, and features to support teens and their guardians."

The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, also said it had recently announced a new "Teen Account" on Instagram, which will arrive in Brazil soon and promises to automatically limit the accounts teenagers can see and who may contact them.

TikTok said it had not received any notice about the case, while Kwai, a social media site based around short videos, said in a statement that user safety is one of its priorities, specially when it comes to minors.