LAST UPDATE | 29 Apr

TECH GIANT META has been found to be in breach of EU digital law for failing to effectively prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram.

The preliminary finding by the European Commission this morning could expose the company to a fine of up to 6% of its annual global turnover.

According to the Commission, Meta has not “diligently identified, assessed and mitigated” the risks of underage users accessing its platforms, despite its own terms setting 13 as the minimum age.

The Commission found that children can easily create accounts by entering false birthdates, with no effective checks in place to verify their age.

It also criticised Meta’s reporting tools for underage accounts, saying they are “difficult to use and not effective”, requiring multiple steps and offering no guarantee of follow-up action.

Officials said this means underage users who are reported can often continue using the platforms without further verification.

The Commission also said Meta’s risk assessments were inadequate and contradicted evidence suggesting around 10 to 12% of under-13s in the EU access Facebook or Instagram.

It said the company had failed to properly account for scientific research showing younger children are more vulnerable to potential harms online.

Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said terms and conditions “should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users – including children”.

“Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services,” Virkkunen said.

The findings do not represent a final ruling. 

Meta has since pushed back against the Commission, stating that they “disagree with these preliminary findings”.

“We’re clear that Instagram and Facebook are intended for people aged 13 and older and we have measures in place to detect and remove accounts from anyone under that age,” a Meta spokesperson said.

They added that Meta continue to “invest in technologies to find and remove underage users”, and said that the company will have more to share next week “about additional measures rolling out soon”.

“Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution, and we will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on this important issue,” the spokesperson said.

If the Commission’s view is confirmed, it could issue a non-compliance decision and impose fines, as well as periodic penalties to force compliance.

The investigation, opened in May 2024 under the Digital Services Act, is ongoing and also includes scrutiny of whether Meta’s platform design contributes to addictive behaviour in young users, including so-called “rabbit hole” effects.

Additional reporting from AFP