EU Accuses Meta of Violating Child Safety Rules Under Digital Services Act
Brussels – The European Commission has issued preliminary findings alleging that Meta Platforms is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately protect children under the age of 13 on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
"The Commission claims Meta lacks effective age verification measures and fails to identify and remove underage accounts."
According to the EU executive, the social media giant does not deploy sufficient systems to prevent young children from accessing its services. The DSA requires very large online platforms to implement robust risk mitigation measures to protect minors.
Meta, which officially sets its minimum user age at 13, has strongly disagreed with the preliminary findings. The company stated that it already employs detection and removal systems designed to identify underage users and remove them from the platform.
However, the company acknowledged that age verification remains a significant industry-wide challenge. Meta indicated that it plans to announce additional measures to address the issue moving forward.
Potential Consequences
If the violations are confirmed, the DSA allows for significant penalties. Meta faces fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue, which could amount to billions of euros. The company will now have the opportunity to respond to the Commission's preliminary findings before a final decision is made.