Jornal Nacional - July 2, 2024
The National Consumer Secretariat has given technology companies four months to adapt to new rules for the advertisements they run in Brazil. In several countries, the use of social media in criminal activities has increased the discussion about the need to regulate digital platforms.
The dark side of social media is increasingly in the crosshairs of justice systems around the world. American prosecutors in the state of Virginia, for example, investigated Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, months ago for facilitating the illegal sale of drugs on the internet. They identified advertisements for illicit products on social media that bypass the company's artificial intelligence, which is responsible for identifying and blocking inappropriate content. A Meta spokesperson stated that the company works with authorities to combat this type of activity and that it has quadrupled the size of its security teams since 2016.
“This environment of digital platforms has become very attractive to organized crime, because you can somehow commit a crime within the platform, choosing the ideal victim, who will be more vulnerable. And you can be protected by the platform, because you are protected by anonymity. These platforms do not make it explicit or public who made the announcement and they do not verify who these people or organizations are. So, it becomes a very favorable and even very safe environment for all types of internet crime”, says Marie Santini, professor and director of NetLab/UFRJ.