Brazil institute sues social media giants for $525 mln over usage by minors
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 (META.O) for allegedly failing to create mechanisms to prevent indiscriminate use of these social media platforms by minors, according to initial petitions reviewed by Reuters.
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.