Summary of this article
EU finds Meta fails to prevent under-13s from accessing Facebook and Instagram, as children easily bypass restrictions by entering false birth dates.
Reporting features are difficult to use, requiring up to seven clicks, while Meta's risk assessment underestimated the scale of the issue.
Meta faces fines up to 6% of global annual turnover if confirmed in breach of the Digital Services Act.
The European Commission said Wednesday it has preliminarily found Meta Platforms in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for failing to prevent children under 13 from accessing Instagram and Facebook, despite the company's own rules setting that as the minimum age.
The Commission said existing safeguards are ineffective, as children can easily bypass age restrictions by entering false birth dates without proper verification. It further criticized Meta's reporting tools as "difficult to use," noting that users must click up to seven times to reach the reporting page. The Commission also said Meta's risk assessment was "incomplete and arbitrary," underestimating the scale of the issue despite evidence suggesting approximately 10 to 12 per cent of children under 13 in the EU access the platforms.
"Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement. "Terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users – including children".
Meta has been given the opportunity to respond to the preliminary findings and propose remedies. The company expressed disagreement with the findings but committed to announcing new protective measures next week, noting that age verification is an industry-wide challenge.
If the preliminary assessment is confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision and impose fines of up to six per cent of Meta's global annual turnover, which could amount to billions of dollars. The findings are part of an ongoing investigation launched in May 2024 and do not prejudge the final outcome.
The charges come as the European Commission has recently stepped up scrutiny of major tech platforms over child protection under the DSA. In March, the Commission opened a formal investigation into Snapchat over similar concerns regarding minor protection.
