Meta has come under scrutiny by the European Commission for failing to keep children off Facebook and Instagram, which could be a violation of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and result in fines for the tech company.
According to a recent announcement by the European Commission, preliminary findings show that Meta has failed to “diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of minors under 13 years old accessing their services.”
The European Commission argues that Meta’s safety measures to prevent children under 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram are not adequately enforced. Moreover, the agency says children can bypass Meta’s safeguards by entering a false birth date, and that there is no effective system in place to verify such information.
The European agency also argued that Meta’s tool for reporting users under 13 is difficult to use and requires up to seven clicks to access the reporting form. Additionally, the form is not pre-filled with the user’s information. “Even when a minor under 13 is reported for being under the age threshold, there often is no proper follow-up, and the reported minor can simply continue to use the service without any type of check,” the European Commission added.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Meta may have violated the EU’s Digital Services Act, though the company can respond in writing to the Commission"s findings. If Meta is found guilty of breaching DSA regulations, it could face a fine of up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover.
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the company “disagrees” with the preliminary findings, adding that both Facebook and Instagram are “intended for people aged 13 and older and we have measures in place to detect and remove accounts from anyone under that age.”
The Commission’s investigation into Facebook and Instagram’s age-verification measures began in 2024 under the DSA.