EU Accuses Meta of Failing to Protect Children Online

The European Commission has accused Meta of breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA) over child protection failures on Facebook and Instagram.

The preliminary findings follow a two-year investigation and suggest the company is not doing enough to prevent children under 13 from accessing its platforms.

According to regulators, Meta failed to take sufficient steps to identify and remove accounts belonging to underage users. The Commission said terms of use should not remain a formal declaration but must be backed by concrete measures to protect children.

Estimates suggest that between 10% and 12% of children under 13 in Europe use the platforms.

Meta rejected the preliminary findings and said it had already introduced systems to detect such accounts. The company also announced further measures and said it was willing to cooperate with the European Commission.

Brussels has asked Meta to revise its risk assessment and strengthen safeguards to prevent and remove underage users. If the company fails to comply, it could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.

(reuters, max)