Brazilian Institute Demands TikTok And Meta IDR 8.2 Trillion For The Use Of Social Media By Minors

TikTok and Meta face lawsuits in Brazil (photo: x @TecheconomyNG ·)

JAKARTA Brazil's Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, has filed two lawsuits worth 3 billion reais (Rp 8.2 trillion) against Brazilian units from TikTok, Kwai, and Meta Platforms.

This lawsuit was filed on suspicion of the company's failure to create a mechanism to prevent the use of social media platforms freely by minors.

The move comes amid high scrutiny over social media regulations in Brazil, following a long feud between owner X, Elon Musk, and a Brazilian Supreme Court judge that previously led to a major fine.

In this lawsuit, the companies are required to create a clear data protection mechanism and warn about risks to the mental health of children and adolescents due to platform addiction. This lawsuit is based on a series of studies related to potential losses from the use of social media without supervision, especially for children and adolescents.

"The urgency is very high to immediately change the way the algorithm works, processing user data under 18 years of age, as well as how to supervise and create a teenage account over 13 years of age, for a safer and healthier experience, as has been implemented in developed countries," said lawyer totaling Salgado, one of the plaintiffs.

Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, state that they want "young people to have a safe and age-appropriate experience in our app." Meta claims to have developed more than 50 tools and features to support their teens and guardians, as well as plans to launch a new "Teen Account" feature on Instagram specifically for users in Brazil.

Meanwhile, TikTok stated that it had not received any notification regarding the case, and Kwai said that the safety of users, especially minors, was one of its top priorities.