LONDON — The European Commission announced preliminary findings Wednesday that Meta Platforms is not doing enough to stop underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram, potentially breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act rules on protecting minors.
The probe, opened in 2024, concluded Meta lacks effective controls to prevent children under 13 from registering accounts and does not adequately identify or remove accounts it believes are operated by underage users. Meta’s terms set 13 as the minimum account age for both Facebook and Instagram.
Investigators also found shortcomings in Meta’s assessment of the risk that children under 13 will encounter age-inappropriate content or experiences on the platforms. The commission said Instagram and Facebook are taking very limited steps to keep young children off their services despite their stated age limits.
Meta rejected the commission’s conclusions, saying it already uses measures to detect and remove accounts for users younger than 13 and that reliable age verification is an industry-wide challenge requiring broader solutions. The company said it will announce additional steps next week and will continue discussions with the commission.
Under the DSA, Meta has an opportunity to respond before a final decision. If violations are upheld, penalties can reach up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue. Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the commission, emphasized that platforms must enforce their own rules and take concrete action to protect users, especially children.