Brazil's consumer protection agency, Procon, has fined McDonald's for pushing Happy Meals on children through targeted advertising and toys.
Procon stated that McDonald's targets their advertising toward youngsters that do not possess the maturity or rational to make smart consumption choices. The consumer protection agency also hinted that more fines maybe on the way for McDonald's Brazil operations.
"This is not an isolated case," Procon's top lawyer in Sao Paulo, Renan Ferraciolli told Reuters. "There's no need to appeal as they do to children without the maturity or the rationality to enter the market as consumers."
The company came under investigation last year when a non-profit agency filed a complaint accusing the burger chain of "encouraging the formation of distorted values" by marketing Happy Meal toys.
In a statement, the Golden Arches Development Corp, owner of McDonald's, said it would take up the issue of the fine with judicial powers.
The fine is the latest in a series of tactics by Brazilian regulators that are cracking down on big companies for what are seen as consumer abuses. Brazilian banks, phone companies and private health plans have been penalized in recent months.
This fine also comes in the heals of last month's court admonishment for violating Brazilian labor laws by using illegal working hours and forcing McDonald's employees to only eat McDonald's at their mealtimes.
