Instagram, YouTube, TikTok Among Those Notified by Consumer Secretariat
Brazil's National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), under the Ministry of Justice, has formally notified major digital platforms – Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Mercado Livre, and Enjoei – demanding the immediate removal of content promoting or selling electronic cigarettes (vapes). The platforms have been given a strict 48-hour deadline to comply.
This action follows a proposal by the National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP), which identified 1,822 illegal pages and advertisements related to banned vape products across these sites. Instagram hosted the vast majority of the illicit content (around 1,600 instances). The accounts responsible, including sellers and influencers, collectively reach nearly 1.5 million followers.
Senacon emphasized that the sale and promotion of e-cigarettes are illegal in Brazil. Beyond content removal, the agency requires the platforms to strengthen their internal controls to prevent similar illegal publications in the future, reinforcing the country's ban on these products.
