Brazil's Collective Defense Institute has sued TikTok, Meta and Kwai for failing to create a safe and protected mechanism for minors.
According to Reuters, the consumer rights group filed two lawsuits against the domestic unit of social media platforms demanding 3 billion reais ($525.27 million) for not doing enough to prevent children from using their platforms without guidance.
The lawsuit demanded TikTok, Kwai and Meta platforms, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, for improved data protection and warning about mental health risks for kids and teenagers who are addicted to these platforms.
One of the petitioners, lawyer Lillian Salgado said, “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.”
In response to the lawsuit, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta stated 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.”
It further added that it has recently launched “Teen Accounts,” on Instagram that will automatically restrict the content and contacts that are not appropriate for teenagers, which will soon arrive in Brazil too.
Meanwhile, TikTok claimed that it had not received any notice regarding any case.
To note, social media regulations have been in the spotlight in Brazil after a months-long dispute between X owner Elon Musk and the Brazilian Supreme Court.
