Meta ordered to pay fine to Miss São Paulo over racist Instagram comments

A court in São Paulo has ordered Meta to pay R$ 50,000 to model Milla Vieira, the Miss Universe São Paulo 2024 winner, for failing to fully remove racist comments directed at her on Instagram.

The ruling from the 2nd Civil Court of the Tatuapé Regional Forum follows a failure by the company to comply with a previous injunction requiring the deletion of offensive content. According to the judge, Antonio Manssur Filho, Meta did not manifest regarding the fulfillment of the judicial order, leading to the application of the fine.

Following her victory, Vieira was targeted with racial slurs and derogatory comments, including claims that her win was solely due to racial quotas. Her legal counsel stated that while some content was removed, the platform failed to eliminate all instances of hate speech. Meta has declined to comment on the decision, though the company maintains the right to appeal.