In a new chapter in the battle between EU institutions and tech giants that fail to comply with the law, the European Commission has announced that, preliminarily, Meta is in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to prevent children under 13 from using Instagram and Facebook. The legal process still has a long way to go, but the Commission has explained that the company founded by Mark Zuckerberg faces a fine that could deal a serious blow to its finances.
Why is the European Commission investigating Meta?
The Commission’s main focus is on the ineffectiveness of Meta’s age verification systems, which allow children to easily bypass restrictions, and on the complexity of its reporting tools, which make it difficult for parents or third parties to report accounts belonging to minors. The Commission argues that Meta has ignored data showing that a significant share of its users are under the permitted age, thereby failing in its duty to mitigate risks and ensure the privacy and safety of younger users.
As it explains in its statement, “For example, when creating an account, children under 13 can enter a false date of birth that makes them appear to be at least 13 years old, without effective checks to verify the accuracy of the self-declared date of birth.”
As for how difficult it is to file a report, it explains that “Meta’s tool for reporting children under 13 on the platform is difficult to use and ineffective, requiring up to seven clicks just to access the reporting form, which is not automatically pre-filled with the user’s information. Even when it is reported that a child under 13 is below the age threshold, there is often no proper follow-up, and the reported minor may simply continue using the service without any kind of control.”
These weaknesses in how Meta addresses the issue mean that, according to evidence gathered by the EU body, “approximately 10-12% of children under 13 access Instagram and / or Facebook.”
In addition, the investigation covers the psychological impact of its platform design, analyzing whether Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms exploit minors’ inexperience to encourage addictive behaviors. This includes the study of so-called “rabbit hole” effects, which can pull users toward increasingly extreme or harmful content.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, explained that “Meta’s own terms and conditions state that its services are not intended for children under 13. However, our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children younger than that from accessing their services. The Digital Services Act 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.”
What fine could Meta face?
If the findings are confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision that would lead to a fine proportionate to the infringement, which in no case may exceed 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover. To give you an idea, Meta’s revenue in 2025 was $200.966 billion. Six percent of that would amount to no less than $12.057 billion, just over €10 billion.
The Commission also has the power to impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel the platform to comply with the requirements of the Digital Services Act.
For now, it is Meta’s turn to respond in writing to the Commission’s preliminary findings and take steps to remedy the violations, in line with what the DSA sets out regarding the protection of minors.
Image: ChatGPT
