Mark Zuckerberg-owned social media giant Meta is once again under regulatory pressure, this time from the European Union, over concerns that it is not doing enough to keep children under 13 off both Instagram and Facebook. The European Commission found that both Meta Platforms apps may have failed to enforce their own age restrictions effectively,
The EU investigation, which ran for nearly two years, has raised serious questions about whether Meta Platforms is prioritising user growth over child safety. The regulator said Meta’s systems to stop underage users from signing up or staying on Instagram and Facebook are inadequate and easy to bypass.
For example, when creating an account, minors below 13 can enter a false birth date that makes them at least 13 years old, with no effective controls in place to check the correctness of the self-declared date of birth.
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“Our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services. The Digital Services Act (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,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
At the centre of the issue is a basic flaw age verification. The EU said that children under 13 can simply enter a false date of birth while creating an account with little to no checks in place to verify the information.
This loophole allows millions of minors to access platforms that are officially not meant for them.
EU officials estimate that around 10–12 per cent of children under 13 in Europe are already using Instagram or Facebook. This, despite clear rules that restrict access for this age group. Concerns go beyond just policy violations.
Regulators warn that weak safeguards expose children to risks such as cyberbullying, online grooming, and age-inappropriate content.
The Commission has also flagged issues with reporting systems. Tools meant to report underage users are said to be ineffective, with little follow-up action in many cases. As a result, even reported accounts often remain active.
Meta, however, has pushed back.
“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,” a Meta spokesperson told Reuters.
If the EU confirms these violations, Meta could face penalties of up to 6 per cent of its global annual turnover.
