Photo: via Lulu.
If you don't know what Lulu is, be grateful. Promoted as the "Yelp for Boys," it's an app where women can rate a man based on just about any criteria via hashtag — without his permission. As you can imagine, some women (and men) have abused their power and posted some pretty humiliating feedback. In the words of Cher Horowitz, the site is a "lawsuit waiting to happen."
And, guess what? It's happening. While Lulu originated in the U.S., it's most popular in Brazil. But, São Paulo law student Felippo de Almeida Scolari is trying to shut it down. Claiming his reputation has been besmirched by the vicious app, Scolari sued Lulu last month. Speaking to the
Telegraph about the ordeal, he explained, "I was disgusted because I didn't authorize my details to be used by this app. I have a girlfriend and she learned about it because a mutual friend sent it to us. She was annoyed because she didn't like seeing this kind of thing written about me." Who wouldn't be upset?
The couple's anger has spurred action. The Brazilian Prosecutor's Office has launched a civil inquiry into Lulu and Facebook. They were no doubt influenced by Scolari's suit that argues that Lulu's entire business model — which is, in fact, based on reviewing real human beings, who have real feelings — is unconstitutional under Brazilian law. While Lulu now allows men to "opt out" of the app — in the way obnoxious "people-finding" sites do after they've already published your info — Brazil has seemingly blocked the app altogether. Lulu users attempting to log in from Brazil will currently receive this message: "Lulu is on vacation, happy Christmas. We are renovating during the holidays and we will be back soon." Here's hoping it's a permanent vacation.(Jezebel)