The European Union has found that Meta’s protections for minors on Facebook and Instagram are inadequate, putting the company at risk of a massive fine.
In a statement issued on April 29 (local time), the European Commission said its preliminary findings show that Meta’s Instagram and Facebook violated the EU’s Digital Services Act because they failed to properly identify, assess and mitigate risks of underage access by children younger than 13.
The DSA requires online platforms to ensure safer social media use for minors, including stronger age verification and measures to limit access to commercial and harmful content.
The EU said Meta did not take sufficient steps. While Facebook and Instagram set the minimum age at 13, children under 13 could bypass the rule by entering a false birth date when creating an account, and Meta lacked effective controls to prevent that, the commission said.
The finding comes about two years after the EU opened its DSA probe into Meta in May 2024. The commission said the preliminary results do not prejudge the final outcome.
Meta said it disagrees with the EU’s assessment and signaled it will respond. A Meta spokesperson said the company makes clear that Instagram and Facebook are for users 13 and older and has measures in place to detect and delete accounts created by younger users. Meta can submit its response before the EU issues a final decision.
If the EU ultimately finds Meta in breach of the DSA, it could impose a fine of up to 6% of the company’s global revenue. With Meta reporting $201 billion in revenue last year, the fine could reach about $12.1 billion (about 17.8 trillion won). The EU previously fined X 120 million euros in December, citing DSA violations related to its advertising policies.
Across Europe, governments have been moving to tighten rules aimed at protecting minors on social media. France has passed a measure to ban social media use by children and teenagers under 15, and Spain is pursuing legislation to set the minimum age for social media use at 16.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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