The European Commission has issued a preliminary finding against Meta for allegedly failing to prevent children under 13 from using Instagram and Facebook.
The Commission said that its findings showed the US tech giant’s systems are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Meta’s own terms of service set 13 as the minimum age for both platforms, but the Commission said that the company's age enforcement measures are largely ineffective, as children can enter a false date of birth when signing up, with no mechanism in place to verify whether the information is accurate.
The Commission said that roughly 10-12% of children under 13 are using Instagram and Facebook, which contradicts Meta’s internal assessments. It also found that Meta “disregarded readily available scientific evidence,” indicating that younger children are particularly vulnerable to harms from services like Facebook and Instagram.
RelatedHow has Meta responded?
Meta said in a statement to Euronews that it disagrees with these preliminary findings.
"We’re clear that Instagram and Facebook 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 Meta spokesperson said, adding that the company continues to invest in technologies to find and remove underage users.
The spokesperson said that the company will have more to share next week about "additional measures rolling out soon".
"Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution, and we will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on this important issue,” they added.
The age verification challenge
The findings come as several EU states discuss plans to implement blanket social media bans for children under 15. However, age verification methods are a sticking point.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in April that a new age-verification app is technically ready and will be available for use soon, without stating the date.
Video. Should social media be banned for children? Euronews asks Europeans
On April 15, von der Leyen told social media platforms there were "no more excuses" for not protecting children online and announced that the EU's own age-verification app is technically ready for rollout.
Regulators are demanding that Meta overhaul its risk assessment methodology and significantly strengthen its measures to prevent, detect, and remove underage users from both platforms.
What happens next?
Meta now has the right to examine the Commission's investigation files and respond in writing to the findings.
If the Commission's conclusions are ultimately confirmed, it can issue a formal non-compliance decision and impose a fine of up to 6% of Meta's total worldwide annual turnover, which could run into the billions of euros.