THE INOBSERVANCE OF MEDICAL ETHICS IN ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL NETWORKS: NA ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS ON CIVIL RESPONSABILITY

Abstract

This article sought to discuss how technological evolutions have provided new models of communication. That said, social media have brought dynamism and agility in the spread of information, enhancing the communicative abilities of individuals. Health professionals, in this context, have adhered to marketing and advertising in the digital environment, thanks to the greater opportunity to communicate with their potential customers. The dissemination of this information through social networks is subject to a series of restrictions, in order to prevent the commercialization of the activity and the occurrence of damage to health and well-being of the population. The Code of Medical Ethics and the Resolutions of the Federal Council of Medicine guide the limits of disclosure to prevent doctors from self-promoting or advertising their work in a sensationalist way. Can the disregard of medical ethics in advertising on social networks generate the duty to indemnify? Thus, the present study aims to analyze the failure to comply with medical ethics in social networks, from the standpoint of civil liability, pondering on publicity, its principles, and limits. Therefore, the specific objective of the work is to discuss the general aspects of advertising in the Brazilian legislation, the limitations of advertising in the exercise of medicine, as well as the civil liability of the physician who acts as a digital influencer. We conclude, then, that the CDC (Consumer Protection Code) and the Medical Advertising Manual are basic instruments and aim to prevent the publication of misleading or abusive content, which can lead to civil liability of the professional.