Kwai, a Chinese platform specialising in short-form video, was also named as a defendant in this case.
Once again, Meta and TikTok are in hot water since it is believed that they failed to protect minors or limit the amount of time kids spend using their platforms. According to Reuters, the Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights organization in Brazil, has filed two lawsuits against Meta, TikTok, and Kwai, another short video network from China, for a total of five hundred and twenty-five million dollars. The cases are seeking damages of three billion reais.
A number of the studies that have been conducted to demonstrate the dangers of using social media have been cited in the cases. It mandates that Meta and its associates offer clear warnings about the ways in which addiction to platforms can have a negative impact on the mental health of kids. In addition, it requires the companies to elaborate on the data protection methods that they have in place.
“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,” according to Lillian Salgado, a lawyer who represents one of the participants in the lawsuit.
Regarding the protection of kids, this is not even close to being the first lawsuit that Meta or TikTok has ever faced. At the end of the year 2023, the state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that the social media platform had failed to adequately protect children by suggesting sexual content to minors. One month later, it was disclosed that Meta had discovered, in a letter that was sent internally in 2021, that more than 100,000 kid users were subjected to everyday harassment. On the other hand, Meta management did not accept the suggested algorithm redesigns. Twenty-four attorneys general filed a lawsuit against TikTok earlier this month, accusing the company of “falsely claiming its platform is safe for young people.” Just two of the many lawsuits that have been launched against social media networks for failing to protect users under the age of 18 are presented below.
Meta has just recently introduced teen accounts on Instagram, which are required for all users who are younger than 16 years old. They have more stringent privacy settings, and any modifications to those settings require agreement from the parents. On the other hand, these accounts are not yet accessible in Brazil, despite the fact that Meta declares they will be in the near future.
A statement issued by Meta stated that it wishes for “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.”
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Brazil has recently engaged in a dispute with Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter) for its refusal to ban profiles that the authorities in Brazil alleged propagated electoral misinformation. In the end, the corporation settled a fine of 28 million reais, which is equivalent to $4.9 million.