Meta in breach of EU law to prevent under-13s from using social media platforms
Tech behemoth Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law after failing to prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram.
Meta has been found to be in breach of European Union (EU) law for failing to prevent children under the age of 13 from using Facebook and Instagram.
The European Commission issued the preliminary findings of a two-year investigation on Wednesday (29.04.26) and said that the company did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s from accessing its services.
The commission said that the firm was unable to meet its own terms and conditions that set 13 as the minimum age for safe access to Facebook and Instagram.
After an initial assessment, Meta was found to be in breach of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) - which requires it to "diligently identify and mitigate the risks" of under-13s using its platforms.
The commission stressed that its preliminary findings "do not prejudge the final outcome of this investigation".
A spokesperson for Meta said that the company disagreed with the findings, stating: "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. We continue to invest in technologies to find and remove underage users and will have more to share next week about additional measures rolling out soon."
The spokesperson argued that understanding the age of users is "an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution" and that Meta continued to "engage constructively" with the commission.
Meta will have the opportunity to examine the commission's investigation file and mount a defence against the findings.
If the findings against the tech behemoth are upheld, Meta could be fined up to six per cent of its global turnover.
The commission explained that children under the age of 13 could open a Facebook or Instagram account by providing a false birthdate, with no checks on their self-declaration.
Meta's tool for reporting underage use was deemed "difficult to use and not effective".
Henna Virkkunen, the commission's lead official on tech policy, said: "Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services.
"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."
