The European Commission has ruled that Meta is breaching Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA) rules by failing to prevent children under 13 from using Facebook and Instagram. The preliminary decision comes after two years of investigation, with the Commission finding inadequate measures to stop minors accessing its services.

Meta’s own terms state their platforms are not for those under 13, yet young users can easily circumvent this by lying about their age. Even when underage users are reported, there is often no follow-up removal of them from the platform. This has led to fines and a call for updated risk-assessment methods.

The Commission claims that Meta’s own assessments on protecting minors are incomplete and contradict evidence showing 10-12% of children under 13 use these platforms. The potential fine of up to six percent of global annual turnover, equivalent to $12 billion, hangs over the company if they fail to comply.

In a statement, Meta argues that while their systems aim to detect and remove underage users, more measures will be rolled out soon. Time will tell if these steps are enough to satisfy regulators and ensure safer online spaces for young users.