EU Intensifies Child Safety Enforcement, Flags Gaps in Meta Age Checks

The European Commission has preliminarily found that Meta may be in breach of the Digital Services Act over how Facebook and Instagram handle access by users under 13. The finding focuses on whether the company has “diligently” identified, assessed and mitigated systemic risks to minors.

According to the Commission, Meta’s safeguards do not effectively enforce its stated minimum age of 13. Users can enter a false date of birth at sign-up without meaningful verification, while systems to detect or remove underage users after account creation appear limited. Reporting tools are also described as difficult to access and inconsistently trigger follow-up action.