Trending Now - EU Critiques Meta for Inadequate Underage User Protections
WHO:
ABC News - The European Union accused Meta Platforms of failing to prevent underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram.
ABC News - Henna Virkkunen is an executive vice president at the European Commission.
WHAT:
ABC News - The European Commission stated that Meta is inadequately assessing the risk of children younger than 13 being exposed to “age-inappropriate experiences” on Facebook and Instagram.
ABC News - Meta has the opportunity to respond to the preliminary findings before the commission issues its final decision.
ABC News - The European Commission stated that Meta lacks effective measures to prevent children younger than 13 from signing up for Facebook and Instagram.
ABC News - Meta's minimum age to open an account on Facebook or Instagram is 13.
ABC News - The European Commission's investigation found that Instagram and Facebook “are doing very little” to prevent children from accessing their services.
ABC News - Violations of the Digital Services Act can result in fines up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual revenue.
WHERE:
ABC News - The European Union is the region involved in the investigation against Meta.
WHEN:
ABC News - The investigation launched in 2024.
WHY:
ABC News - The European Union's Digital Services Act requires tech companies to protect minors and enforce their own terms and conditions.
HOW:
ABC News - Henna Virkkunen stated that the Digital Services Act requires platforms to enforce their own rules, emphasizing that terms and conditions should lead to concrete actions to protect users, including children.
ABC News - The European Commission is targeting Meta with the Digital Services Act, which mandates that platforms take concrete actions to protect users, including children.
(UPDATED April 29, 2026 13:23 UTC)
The European Commission has raised concerns that Meta is not properly assessing the risks for children under 13 who may encounter age-inappropriate content on Facebook and Instagram. Meta now has the chance to respond to these preliminary findings before the commission makes its final decision. Henna Virkkunen highlighted that the Digital Services Act mandates platforms to enforce their own rules, stressing that terms and conditions must translate into real actions to safeguard users, particularly children.
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(UPDATED April 29, 2026 09:37 UTC)
The European Union has accused Meta Platforms of failing to prevent underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram, highlighting that the company lacks effective measures to keep children younger than 13 from signing up. An investigation by the European Commission, which began in 2024, found that Meta is doing very little to enforce its own minimum age requirement of 13, and violations of the Digital Services Act could lead to fines of up to 6% of the company's worldwide annual revenue. Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission, emphasized that the Digital Services Act mandates tech companies to take concrete actions to protect minors on their platforms.