The European Commission has provisionally determined that Meta is violating the Digital Services Act through its platforms, Instagram and Facebook. According to the Commission, the company has failed to effectively prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing these services. Although Meta’s terms of use stipulate a minimum age of 13, the Brussels authority reported on Wednesday that the measures in place to enforce this age restriction are insufficient.
Specific shortcomings include the inability to adequately verify user age during account creation, as minors can easily provide false dates of birth without effective checks. Furthermore, the reporting process for underage users under 13 is described as complicated and ineffective; even when accounts are reported, they often are not properly followed up on, allowing the reported minors to maintain access to the services.
The Commission is demanding that Meta revamps its risk assessment methodologies and strengthens its measures to accurately identify and remove underage users under 13. Should Meta fail to meet these requirements, the Commission has the authority to impose a fine of up to six percent of the company’s global annual turnover.
