LONDON — The European Union accused Meta on Wednesday of failing to stop underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram, in violation of the bloc's tough digital rules that require social media sites to protect minors.
The EU's executive branch said Meta Platforms lacked effective measures to prevent children younger than 13 from signing up, and that it was not doing enough to identify and remove children after they had opened accounts.
Meta's own minimum age to open an account on Facebook or Instagram is 13.
The problem is not just that children are getting access. The European Commission said Meta is also inadequately assessing the risk of children younger than 13 being exposed to "age-inappropriate experiences" on the platforms.
Meta disagreed with the decision, saying that it has measures in place to detect and remove accounts for anyone younger than 13.
"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," the company said in a statement, adding it will have more to share next week about additional measures it plans to roll out soon.
Brussels is targeting the Meta with the Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations that requires tech companies operating in the 27-nation bloc to do more to clean up online platforms and protect internet users.
Meta now has the chance to respond to the preliminary findings, before the commission issues its final decision. Violations can result in hefty fines worth up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual revenue.
Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission, said the bloc's investigation launched in 2024 found that Instagram and Facebook "are doing very little" to prevent children from getting access despite their own terms and conditions indicating "their services are not intended for minors under 13."
"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," she said in a statement.
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