EU finds Meta failed to keep children under 13 off its platforms

Meta Platforms has been found preliminarily in breach of European Union law for failing to prevent children under 13 from accessing its Facebook and Instagram services, following a nearly two-year investigation by the European Commission. The commission announced Wednesday that the U.S. tech company did not have effective measures in place to enforce its own terms and conditions, which set 13 as the minimum age for using its platforms. Investigators found that children could bypass age restrictions by simply entering a fake birthdate when creating accounts, and Meta's tools for reporting underage users were deemed difficult to use and ineffective, with no proper follow-up to remove underage accounts. The preliminary findings were issued under the EU's Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to "diligently identify and mitigate risks" posed to minors. Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen stated that Meta's services are clearly not intended for children under 13, yet the company is "doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services." Meta will now have the opportunity to examine the investigation file and mount a defense. If the findings are upheld, the company could face a fine of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover, which reached $201 billion in 2025. The investigation remains ongoing, with other strands examining whether Meta is doing enough to protect the physical and mental health of young users, including potentially addictive algorithmic features that can create "rabbit hole" effects by feeding negative or extreme content to teenagers. The findings come as European governments consider broader restrictions on social media for children, with Spain proposing a ban for users under 16, France voting for restrictions on under-15s, and the UK examining "age or functionality restrictions" for those under 16. Meta has previously stated it wants young people "to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online" and has developed more than 50 tools and policies designed to protect them.