EU Accuses Meta of Violating Digital Rules by Failing to Block Under-13 Users on Facebook and Instagram
On Wednesday, the European Union issued formal accusations against Meta, claiming the tech giant has failed to stop underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram — a direct breach of the bloc’s strict digital regulations that require social media platforms to implement robust protections for minors.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive governing branch, stated that Meta Platforms lacks effective safeguards to prevent children under 13 from creating accounts, and the company also falls short of requirements to locate and remove these underage profiles after they are set up. Notably, 13 is the minimum age Meta itself sets for opening an account on either of its platforms.
Unauthorized access for underage users is not the only concern, however. The Commission added that Meta has also failed to properly assess the risk of children under 13 being exposed to “age-inappropriate experiences” across its services.
Meta has pushed back against the EU’s preliminary findings, asserting that it already has systems in place to detect and remove accounts belonging to users under 13. “Verifying user age is an industry-wide challenge that requires an industry-wide solution, and we will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on this important issue,” the company said in an official statement. Meta added that it will share more details next week about additional protections it plans to roll out in the near future.
The accusations are brought under the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping regulatory framework that requires all tech companies operating in the 27-nation bloc to take greater action to moderate harmful content and protect internet users. As this is only a preliminary finding, Meta now has the opportunity to formally respond to the claims before the Commission issues a final ruling. Proven violations of the DSA can result in massive fines of up to 6% of a company’s total global annual revenue.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, noted that the bloc’s investigation, launched in 2024, found Facebook and Instagram are “doing very little” to block underage access — even though the platforms’ own terms of service explicitly state 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,” Virkkunen said in a statement.
—Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer
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