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

BRUSSELS — European regulators have issued a preliminary ruling declaring that Meta is breaking the European Union’s Digital Services Act by failing to keep children under 13 off Facebook and Instagram, exposing what critics describe as a pattern of negligence that leaves the youngest users vulnerable to the very platforms their own rules claim to restrict.

The European Commission announced the findings Wednesday after an nearly two-year investigation. Officials determined that Meta’s minimum age requirement of 13 is little more than a suggestion. When signing up, children can simply lie about their birth date with no meaningful verification process in place. The commission described the company’s age checks as nonexistent at the point of entry, allowing minors to create accounts and access the full range of features without interference.

Even the systems meant to catch problems after the fact fall short. The commission found that tools for reporting underage accounts are buried behind as many as seven clicks, making them cumbersome and rarely used. When reports do come in, follow-through is often nonexistent. Accounts flagged as belonging to children under 13 frequently remain active, according to the investigation. These shortcomings, regulators said, violate the DSA’s requirement that very large online platforms diligently identify and mitigate systemic risks to minors.

The commission also slammed Meta’s own risk assessments as “incomplete and arbitrary.” European officials pointed to substantial evidence across member states showing that children between the ages of 10 and 12 are regularly using the platforms, contradicting Meta’s internal evaluations. Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s top tech policy official, put it bluntly: Meta’s general conditions state the services are not intended for minors under 13, yet the company does “very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services.”

This ruling lands amid a growing body of research linking heavy social media use to mental health crises among young people. Anxiety, depression, body image disorders, and exposure to inappropriate or grooming content have all been documented at alarming rates. Platforms like Instagram, with its visual focus and algorithm-driven feeds, have faced particular criticism for amplifying harmful material to users who are developmentally unequipped to handle it. That Meta appears to have built its systems in ways that make it easy for preteens to join the ecosystem will only fuel arguments that profit remains the priority over protection.

Meta pushed back in a statement, insisting it disagrees with the preliminary findings. The company said it maintains measures to detect and remove underage accounts and continues to invest in improved technology. “We’re clear that Instagram and Facebook are intended for people aged 13 and older,” a spokesperson told reporters. The company also called age verification an “industry-wide challenge” that requires broader solutions across tech platforms and pledged to roll out additional safeguards in the coming weeks.

That defense will likely ring hollow for many parents who have watched their children get pulled into endless scrolling sessions. For years, families have reported that these platforms seem designed to maximize engagement rather than enforce boundaries. The commission’s findings suggest those concerns are not isolated anecdotes but reflect systemic design choices at one of the world’s most powerful technology companies.

The Digital Services Act was crafted to force larger platforms to take greater responsibility for content and user safety on their services. Violations can bring fines reaching as high as six percent of a company’s global annual revenue. For Meta, that could mean billions of dollars if the preliminary conclusions become final. The company now has the opportunity to review the commission’s evidence and respond before any binding decision or penalty is issued.

This case highlights a fundamental tension in the modern digital age. Governments are increasingly stepping into the role of digital babysitter because the companies that built these powerful tools have shown themselves unwilling or unable to protect the most vulnerable on their own. In the United States, similar frustrations have led to lawsuits from multiple states, congressional hearings, and growing calls for stricter age verification nationwide. Parents across the political spectrum have grown tired of handing their children over to algorithms tuned for addiction.

Whether the EU’s pressure will force genuine change at Meta remains to be seen. The company has a long track record of promising reforms only after intense external scrutiny. Its history of adjusting policies in response to public backlash and regulatory heat suggests that without real consequences, the pattern of inadequate protections could continue. For now, European officials have put Meta on notice: the current approach to child safety on Facebook and Instagram is not just insufficient, but illegal under the bloc’s rules.

The commission’s action adds to the mounting pressure on Silicon Valley to treat underage users as a priority rather than an afterthought. In an environment where social media shapes everything from self-image to political views at younger and younger ages, the inability or unwillingness of major platforms to enforce basic age gates raises serious questions about whether these companies can be trusted with the next generation at all. Meta will have its chance to answer those questions in the coming months as the regulatory process unfolds.