The European Union accused Meta on Wednesday of failing to stop underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram, exposing the company to potential fines worth up to 6% of its worldwide annual revenue under the bloc's Digital Services Act enforcement regime.
The EU's executive branch said Meta Platforms lacked effective measures to prevent children younger than 13 from signing up, and that it was not doing enough to identify and remove children after they had opened accounts. Meta's own minimum age to open an account on Facebook or Instagram is 13. The European Commission said Meta is also inadequately assessing the risk of children younger than 13 being exposed to age-inappropriate experiences on the platforms.
Company Response and Industry Challenge
Meta disagreed with the decision, saying that it has measures in place to detect and remove accounts for anyone younger than 13. The company said, "Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution, and we will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on this important issue," adding it will have more to share next week about additional measures it plans to roll out soon.
The company's response highlights the technical and practical difficulties facing all social media platforms in verifying user ages without implementing intrusive identity verification systems that could raise privacy concerns and create barriers to legitimate users.
Regulatory Framework and Enforcement
Brussels is targeting Meta with the Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations that requires tech companies operating in the 27-nation bloc to do more to clean up online platforms and protect internet users. Meta now has the chance to respond to the preliminary findings, before the commission issues its final decision. Violations can result in hefty fines worth up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual revenue.
Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission, said the bloc's investigation launched in 2024 found that Instagram and Facebook "are doing very little" to prevent children from getting access despite their own terms and conditions indicating "their services are not intended for minors under 13." Virkkunen said, "The DSA requires platforms to enforce their own rules: terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users – including children."
Enforcement Implications
The preliminary findings represent the commission's interpretation of compliance obligations under regulations that place significant operational burdens on platforms. The potential 6% revenue penalty would represent a substantial financial exposure for Meta, which operates globally but must navigate varying regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions. The case illustrates tensions between regulatory mandates for child protection and the practical challenges of age verification in digital environments where users can easily provide false information during registration.
Why This Matters:
This enforcement action tests the boundaries of corporate liability for user-provided information and the feasibility of regulatory mandates that may exceed current technological capabilities. The potential fine of up to 6% of worldwide revenue represents a significant financial risk that could affect Meta's operations and shareholder value. The case raises questions about whether regulatory requirements should account for technical limitations and whether industry-wide solutions might be more effective than individual company enforcement. The outcome will establish precedent for how strictly the EU interprets platform obligations under the Digital Services Act, affecting operational costs and compliance strategies for all tech companies operating in European markets. Meta's argument that age verification is an industry-wide challenge suggests that effective solutions may require technological innovation rather than regulatory pressure alone.