Overview
- The European Commission, which issued the preliminary finding Wednesday, said Meta is not adequately blocking under‑13s from its platforms and could face fines of up to 6% of global revenue if a final decision confirms a breach.
- Investigators said children can create accounts by entering false birth dates and that Meta lacks effective tools to verify the ages users declare at sign‑up.
- The EU found Meta’s tool for reporting under‑13 accounts is hard to use, requiring up to seven clicks to reach the form, and said reports often do not lead to timely removal.
- Regulators cited evidence that 10% to 12% of EU children under 13 access Instagram or Facebook, while Meta disagreed with the findings and said it already removes underage accounts and will announce more measures next week.
- Meta can now review the case file and reply in writing, as the EU readies an anonymous age‑verification app and continues a wider probe into platform design that examines risks to young users.