EU Finds Meta Falls Short on Blocking Under-13s from Facebook and Instagram

Children are slipping through the cracks onto platforms explicitly barred to them. The European Commission announced preliminary findings Wednesday that Meta has failed to adequately prevent users under 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram or to remove those who do, leaving the company at risk of fines reaching billions of dollars. The assessment, reached after nearly two years of investigation, centers on one unresolved tension: how far a platform must go beyond self-declared ages and basic reporting tools when evidence shows young children are still routinely exposed to its products.

Meta's terms of service set 13 as the minimum age. Yet the Commission said users can simply enter a false birth date with no effective verification controls in place. Reporting tools for underage accounts proved "difficult to use" and often produced no follow-up action. Even when reports were filed, the Commission found, children frequently remained on the platforms. Meta's own risk assessments for protecting minors came under fire as "incomplete and arbitrary," contradicting what the Commission described as large bodies of evidence across the EU suggesting 10 to 12 percent of children under 13 use Facebook or Instagram. The regulator also noted that Meta appeared to have disregarded scientific evidence showing younger children face heightened vulnerability to potential harms.

These shortcomings, according to the Commission, breach the Digital Services Act's requirements to diligently identify and mitigate systemic risks to minors. A separate probe into whether the platforms foster behavioral addictions in children remains open. Should the preliminary findings become final, Meta could face penalties of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover. With 2025 revenue reported at $201 billion, that ceiling sits near $12 billion.

The company pushed back immediately. A Meta spokesperson told reporters the platforms are intended for users 13 and older, that detection and removal systems already exist, and that the firm continues to invest in new technologies. "Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution," the statement continued, adding that further measures would be detailed within days. Meta now has time to review the findings, submit written responses, and propose remedies such as updated risk-assessment methods and stronger age-verification tools before any final determination.

The decision lands amid rising global pressure on social media companies. Australia recently enacted a ban on social media for users under 16. Regulators in the UK, Spain and France are considering similar steps. In March, UK authorities urged platforms including Meta's to move beyond easily circumvented self-declaration toward technologies such as facial age estimation. Two U.S. court rulings the same month addressed related claims of platform design contributing to teenage addiction and misleading statements about child safety, though those cases remain distinct from the EU proceedings.

The Commission's action does not yet constitute a final ruling. It does, however, signal that self-regulation and incremental improvements may no longer satisfy European expectations for child protection online. How Meta responds, and whether other jurisdictions follow the EU's regulatory lead, will shape the next chapter for platforms that remain central to how young people spend their time.