The European Commission has published the preliminary findings of an investigation into whether Meta breached the Digital Services Act (DSA). The regulator found that social media platforms Instagram and Facebook failed to put in place adequate mechanisms to prevent minors under the age of 13 from accessing their platforms. Despite the company’s official age restrictions, the controls in place were found to be ineffective.
According to the official investigation, the current system allows children to easily bypass the age threshold by entering false birth data. The European Commission stresses that Meta has not implemented effective methods to verify the claimed age, and the mechanism for filing complaints about accounts of younger children is too complicated. This leads to a situation where a significant part of the child audience continues to use the services without any protection.
“Meta’s assessment contradicts a large body of evidence from across the European Union indicating that approximately 10-12% of children under 13 use Instagram and/or Facebook. Moreover, Meta appears to have ignored readily available scientific evidence indicating that younger children are more vulnerable to the potential harm caused by such services,” the European Commission stressed.
At this stage of the investigation, the Commission has ordered the management of social networks to radically change the risk assessment methodology in the European Union. Platforms must develop and implement enhanced measures to identify and promptly remove profiles of users who have not reached the established age. The main goal of these requirements is to guarantee the highest level of privacy and security for vulnerable categories of the population.
Meta currently has the opportunity to familiarize itself with the case materials and provide written explanations. If the preliminary conclusions are finally confirmed, the developer may be fined up to 6% of the total global annual turnover. The regulator also has the right to apply periodic penalty payments until the violations are completely eliminated.
Protecting children in the digital environment remains one of the priorities of European legislation. Formal proceedings against Instagram and Facebook have been ongoing since May 2024. The European Commission’s final decision in this case could set a precedent for the entire social media industry and force global technology corporations to fundamentally rethink their approaches to user identification.
