Clipping

I collaborated with an article by Gabriel Shinohara and André de Souza for O Globo about the fine imposed today on TikTok by the Ministry of Justice. My participation was as follows:

The professor of Law at the University of Brasília (UnB) Henrique Costa said that the fine is low and, therefore, is another symbolic measure. He also pointed out that the issue goes through several dimensions and that consumer rights are only one. More effective measures could come from the Judiciary, such as through a lawsuit filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office.

"This fine of R$ 1,000 is derisory, it is symbolic. So it is also a symbolic thing, and it seems to me that more effective measures – not least because the consumer protection forum is not the most powerful forum, with the most resources to carry out this fight – will really depend on a judicial initiative – said Costa.

The UnB professor also said that Tik Tok, in terms of rules for access to minors, is not very different from other platforms, but has a younger audience. The challenge, he said, is to find an economically viable solution to have an effective age check. In general, only self-declaration occurs.

"The consensus in the field of "should be" exists. No one openly advocates that children be exposed to this type of content," said Costa, adding: "This point of tension has to be addressed. So, having been a fine that is not extortionate, and being a temporary measure, until you are able to do a better verification, it seems to me a measure that I cannot criticize, because it is defending values in which there is consensus that must be protected. What I can't say, and then the criticism, is whether this is a problem that has a solution. An economically viable solution for verifying millions of people through one platform.

To read the entire article, see here:

Ministry of Justice determines daily fine of BRL 1 thousand if TikTok does not remove content inappropriate for minors

The National Consumer Secretariat ordered TikTok to suspend the display of inappropriate content for people under 18 years of age

O Globo

I participated in an article published by Correio Braziliense, in 28/05/2022 , on the regulation of the professional activity of influencers. My collaboration highlights that none of the legislative initiatives to date have made progress in the Legislative Branch. In the words of Camilla Germano:

The discussion on regulation for the activity of influencers has arisen within the scope of the Legislature, but the proposals presented so far have not yet been successful, as explained by Professor Henrique Araújo Costa, from the Department of Law of the University of Brasília (UnB). He details that there have been several attempts, since 2016, to vote on bills in the National Congress that help regulate the practice in Brazil. Many of them, however, were shelved.

In 2018, federal deputy Eduardo da Fonte (PP-PE) started the processing of a bill that aims to regulate the work of digital influencers. At the time, the document was shelved for lack of content. Bill No. 1138, of 2022, rescued this text in the Federal Senate, but with some reservations, in order to differentiate journalists from influencers, but the project was also shelved. (...)

Professor Henrique points out that, in Brazil, there is still no concern to regulate the action of influencers in the field of health, but points out that other topics are being debated. "Here, we are more concerned so far with children's rights, but this issue of the economy can be equally harmful. So the big question, since in this world we live in, influencers are organized into niches, is whether it needs to be regulated or if the (laws) that already exist are sufficient", he ponders.

In terms of advertising, there is the guide of the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), which mentions a series of guidelines for commercial content on social networks, especially that generated by digital influencers. The "Influencer Advertising Guide" was created in December 2020 and gives guidelines and reinforces measures of the code of ethics.

However, Henrique explains that the guide is not regulatory in nature, but rather to instruct and guide professionals on what should be alerted and what does not need to be noted. In some cases, the Consumer Protection Code may apply, but the document does not comprehensively deal with advertising for influencers.

Read the full article here:

Laws for influencers? Experts explain what the rules are in Brazil

Australia has taken a big step in regulating the activity. Find out how the discussions are going in Brazil and what rules influencers must follow here

Correio Braziliense