Civil society institutions filed a public civil action against Google, demanding compensation of R$100 million. The lawsuit alleges that the company profits through YouTube channels that employ artificial intelligence avatars disguised as doctors to promote treatments without any scientific backing.
The Institute for Inspection and Control (IFC) and the Institute for Technology and Equity (IT&E) registered the action in the São Paulo District Court. The lawyers responsible for the petition are Márlon Reis, Matheus Lopes, Luciano Caparroz, Mikaelle Leão, and Édison de Deus.
The investigation points to a network consisting of at least 29 Portuguese-language channels, totaling about 70 million views. These profiles use fictional characters dressed as doctors to simulate real professionals and, according to the lawsuit's authors, promote unproven therapies.
Among the examples presented in the lawsuit is a guide promising to regenerate arteries and the heart, and another channel that sells a guide focused on glucose control. Furthermore, a profile was cited that admits to being an AI avatar but uses the image of a renowned doctor without clearly indicating that the content is generated by artificial intelligence.
Irregularities pointed out by the public
The lawsuit's authors emphasize that the elderly public is the main target of these practices. The videos, they claim, use intimidating messages to persuade users to abandon conventional treatments in favor of therapies with unproven efficacy.
Before filing the lawsuit, public bodies such as the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General's Office had already issued alerts to YouTube regarding the fraud, requesting the removal of 97 misleading profiles.
As detailed in the petition, even after these warnings, the channels remained active. The lawsuit argues that some accounts were simply renamed or duplicated to circumvent the platform's monitoring mechanisms.
In addition to the R$100 million sought for collective moral damages, the entities judicially request the removal of the videos, the suspension of payments to the channels, and the end of automatic recommendations for this type of material. The petition also requests the implementation of alerts and mandatory verification of professional records, aiming to force YouTube to confirm whether the supposed doctors have valid registration with the Federal Council of Medicine.