Facebook, Instagram Charged by EU for Failing to Protect Children Under 13
EU Charges Meta Over Child Protection Failures
By Foo Yun Chee
Background of the Charges
BRUSSELS, April 29 (Reuters) - Meta Platform' Facebook and Instagram were charged on Wednesday with breaching landmark EU tech rules and must do more to prevent children under 13 from accessing both social networks, EU regulators said on Wednesday.
The charges under the Digital Services Act, which requires Big Tech to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms, came after a two-year long investigation by the European Commission.
Inadequate Enforcement of Age Restrictions
The EU tech enforcer said Meta does not do enough to enforce its restrictions against children under 13 from using Facebook and Instagram and that measures to identify and remove them when they do access the services were inadequate.
It said 10-12% of children under 13 in Europe use Facebook and Instagram.
Statements from EU Officials
"Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
"Terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users – including children," she said.
Required Actions and Potential Penalties
The Commission said both platforms must change their risk assessment methodology and that they need to strengthen measures to prevent, detect and remove minors from their services.
Meta can respond to the charges and take measures before the Commission issues a decision. DSA breaches can cost companies fines as much as 6% of their global annual turnover.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
