Brazil slams Meta, TikTok, Kwai with $525m suit over alleged failure to protect minors online

The Brazilian offices of TikTok, Kwai, and Meta are the targets of two lawsuits brought by Brazil’s Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, seeking 3 billion reais ($525 million).

These companies are accused in legal complaints of not putting in place the appropriate measures to stop young people from using social media excessively, which could hurt kids’ mental health.

These incidents come after several studies that predicted excessive, unsupervised social media use, especially among kids and teens, could hurt mental health.

Attorney Lillian Salgado, one of the plaintiffs, encouraged platforms to modify their algorithms and enhance user account management for minors under the age of 18.

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“measures must be adopted to change how algorithms function, manage data for under-18s, and supervise teenage users, ensuring a safer experience… as in developed countries,’’ Salgado noted.

In response, Meta insisted that it has developed more than 50 strategies to protect teenagers and has prioritized kid safety for over ten years.

Additionally, Meta announced that Instagram’s new “Teen Account” feature, which automatically restricts what teenagers see and controls who may contact them, will soon be accessible in Brazil.

Kwai emphasized that user safety, especially for children, is a top priority, while TikTok said that information on the issue had not been gathered.

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