EU prepares fines for Meta over children's access to Facebook and Instagram
Kyiv • UNN
The European Commission has accused Meta of insufficient age verification for children on Facebook and Instagram. The company faces a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
The European Union has preliminarily accused Meta Platforms of violating digital rules due to insufficient protection of children on Facebook and Instagram. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
These are preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act, resulting from a two-year investigation by the European Commission. Regulators believe the company fails to ensure proper control over age restrictions and is ineffective at detecting and removing accounts of children under 13.
According to EU estimates, between 10% and 12% of children of this age in Europe use these platforms. Meta disputes these figures, stating they are based on outdated surveys.
"Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook do very little to prevent children from accessing their services before this age,"
Possible fines and company reaction
If the violations are confirmed, the company faces a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. At the same time, Meta has the opportunity to respond to the allegations and take measures before a final decision is reached.
The company stated that it is already working on identifying and removing accounts of children under 13 and will announce additional steps in the near future.
"Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge that requires a collective solution,"
The European Commission insists that platforms must review their risk assessment approaches and strengthen mechanisms for the prevention, detection, and removal of underage users. A final decision on the case is expected later.