The court prohibited the company Igoo Networks, which owns at least eight websites that sell followers and likes, from promoting the marketing of artificial engagement on Instagram.
This Tuesday’s decision (23), by the 1st Business Court and Arbitration Conflicts of São Paulo, responds to a request by Meta, owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, against the company. It is still possible to resort to emergency injunction, which is a type of advance decision.
Lawyer Emerson Tadeu Kuhn Grigollette Junior, who represents Igoo, was contacted by email, phone and WhatsApp this Wednesday (24), but has not yet responded. Grigollete is known in the legal world for his work with the Right Lawyers Movement. With other conservatives, he filed a complaint with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights against the fake news inquiry. He is co-author of the book “Suprema Desodem – Juristocracy and State of Exception in Brazil”.
Users of the social network of videos and photos buy followers and likes to improve their positioning on the network. The more people follow a profile and like its content, the more the tool sees that user as relevant, increasing the chances of him being introduced to new potential followers.
That’s why this kind of practice is seen as a false or artificial engagement. A report by Folha de Maio showed how companies specialized in these services, known as click farms, operate.
A pack of 1,000 Instagram likes, for example, can be purchased for BRL 0.60. At the other end, websites pay workers from R$0.001 to R$0.05 to perform each of the interactions, designated as tasks.
The decision takes effect in 30 days and prohibits Igoo from “developing, distributing, operating, selling or offering for sale services, products or applications that integrate with ‘Instagram'” and also the promotion and reproduction of symbols and signs associated with network.
“Any others that reproduce or imitate, in whole or in part, the trademarks registered by the author party, making the necessary changes to the indicated URLs,” Bedendi wrote in the decision.
According to the lawsuit filed by Meta, Igoo sells fake engagement through “Likesnoinsta” and “Seguidoresgram” and owns the URLs www.smmrevenda.com.br, www.seguidoresbrasil.com.br, www.seguidoresbrasil.com, www.seguidoresmix.com.br, www.curtidasgratis.com.br, www.seguidoresgram.com.br, www.comprarlikes.com.br and www.likesnoinsta.com.br.
For the judge of the 1st Business Court and Arbitration Conflicts, Luis Felipe Ferrari Bedendi, there are indications that the services offered by Igoo violate the legislation of intellectual property of computer programs (law nº 9.609). To make the functionality available, the company would need authorization from the owner of the program, that is, Meta.
Furthermore, wrote Bedendi, “from the point of view of industrial property, the reproduction or imitation of trademarks duly registered by the author appears to infringe the right of exclusivity.”
Tuesday’s decision is the first of two lawsuits filed by Meta against false engagement in Brazil. The company also sent out-of-court notices to more than 40 companies that offer similar services for Facebook and Instagram.
“Using services to artificially increase engagement, such as likes, followers, and views, is prohibited by our Terms of Use. These lawsuits demonstrate our ongoing commitment to protecting users, enforcing our Terms of Use, and holding people who abuse accountable. of our services”, says the company, in a note.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
