Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, EC Preliminary Findings Fault Meta for Facebook, Instagram Age Verification Failings, (Apr 30, 2026)
Organizations Mentioned:Meta Platforms, Inc.
By Jeff Williams, TR Daily
Minors below 13 were able to enter false birth date, with no effective controls in place to check the correctness of the self-declared date of birth.
The European Commission announced that it had preliminarily found that Meta Platforms, Inc., was in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to prevent minors under 13 years old from using the company’s Instagram and Facebook social media platforms.
“Despite Meta’s own terms and conditions setting the minimum age to access Instagram and Facebook safely at 13, the measures put in place by the company to enforce these restrictions do not seem to be effective,” the EC said in a press release. “The measures do not adequately prevent minors under the age of 13 from accessing their services nor promptly identify and remove them, if they already gained access.”
Meta has an “incomplete and arbitrary” risk assessment process, “which inadequately identifies the risk of minors under 13 accessing Instagram and Facebook and being exposed to age-inappropriate experiences,” the EC said. “Meta's assessment contradicts large bodies of evidence from all over the European Union indicating that roughly 10-12% of children under 13 are accessing Instagram and/or Facebook. Moreover, Meta seems to have disregarded readily available scientific evidence indicating that younger children are more vulnerable to potential harms caused by services like Facebook and Instagram.”
The commission said Instagram and Facebook “must change their risk assessment methodology” and “strengthen their measures to prevent, detect and remove minors under the age of 13 from their service.”
Instagram and Facebook have the opportunity to respond in writing to the preliminary findings, the EC said, noting that if its views were ultimately confirmed, the agency could issue a non-compliance decision that could include a "fine proportionate to the infringement which shall in no case exceed 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider.” The EC could also “impose periodic penalty payments to compel a platform to comply,” it said.
Companies: Meta Platforms, Inc.
News: ConsumerProtection Privacy