Meta in breach of EU law over failing to keep children off platforms
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The news: The European Commission has found that Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), for failing to diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of minors under 13 years old accessing their services.
The context: The Commission said in a press release on Wednesday that a preliminary investigation which lasted almost two years has found that Meta does not have effective measures in place to stop under 13-year-olds from accessing the services.
It said that Meta is unable to meet its own terms and conditions which set the minimum age to access the platforms safely at 13, adding that the measures put in place by the company to enforce these restrictions do not seem to be effective.
While noting that the preliminary findings “do not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation,” Meta will now have the opportunity to assess the Commissions findings and issue a defence, and take steps to remedy the breaches.
However, if the Commission’s views are ultimately confirmed, it has the power to issue a non-compliance decision which could trigger a fine of up to 6% of Meta’s total worldwide annual turnover. In 2025 Meta reported revenue of USD201 billion.
Disagreeing with the Commission’s findings, a Meta spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Guardian that the platform has “measure in place to detect and remove accounts from anyone under that age. We continue to invest in technologies to find and remove underage users and will have more to share next week about additional measures rolling out soon.”
What they said: On the announcement, the Commission’s EVP for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, Henna Virkkunen said: “Meta’s own general conditions indicate their services are not intended for minors under 13. Yet, our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services. The DSA requires platforms to enforce their own rules: terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users — including children.”
The sources: European Commission, CNBC, The Guardian
