Opinion – Rogério Gentile: LinkedIn makes a secret agreement to indemnify the black and indigenous movement

LinkedIn told the court that it had entered into a confidential reparation agreement with entities that had opened a public civil action against the social network due to the removal of an advertisement for a job vacancy that prioritized the hiring of black and indigenous people.

The process was opened in March 2022 by the entities Educafro, Frente Nacional Antiracista and Centro Santo Dias de Direitos Humanos, which demanded compensation for collective moral damages of R$ 10 million, in addition to measures such as a public commitment “to publish all ads that contain affirmative action in historically discriminated groups”.

When taking down the announcement by the Center for the Analysis of Freedom and Authoritarianism (Laut), which was seeking to hire a professional for its administrative and financial sector, LinkedIn argued at the time that its job posting policy does not allow ads that ” exclude or show preference for professionals” and that the restriction applies “to any type of characteristics, whether age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation”.

In the action, the entities said that such a stance, on the pretext of avoiding discrimination, “has, in fact, the exact opposite effect, that of reaffirming and reinforcing the historical and traditional discrimination of such categories that have long been made unfeasible and minorized in the labor market. “.

According to the entities, the policy of the social network “has reached fundamental values ​​of society, in an unfair and intolerable way”. “The conviction is imposed due to the magnitude of the violated rights and the anti-social nature of the illicit acts perpetrated against the most basic constitutional values”, he declared to the Justice.

LinkedIn did not present a defense in the process and, in a petition signed jointly with the entities, informed the Court that an extrajudicial agreement had been signed, requesting the termination of the process.

Questioned by the Public Ministry about the terms of the pact, the social network and the entities said that “the agreement has a confidentiality clause” with the aim of “preventing the terms from being misinterpreted”.

“The option to enter into the agreement with such confidentiality provision was made precisely to protect the parties, given that the defendant [LinkedIn] is not assuming any responsibility for the facts narrated or acknowledging the merits of the requests”, they stated in the petition.

“The parties do not want the terms and conditions of the agreement to be misinterpreted or distorted by the press, internet and social media, thus creating any potentially harmful repercussions, or used opportunistically by third parties.”

Prosecutor Anna Trotta Yaryd replied that it is “essential” that the terms be made available in the case file, even if under the decree of secrecy, so that the Public Ministry can have knowledge of the terms and monitor their execution.

The agreement was confidentially attached to the process, but the Court has not yet decided whether to ratify it.