European Commission finds Meta in preliminary breach of Digital Services Act

On Wednesday, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding that Meta is in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The regulatory body stated that Facebook and Instagram are failing to implement sufficient measures to prevent access by children under the age of 13. While Meta's terms of service establish 13 as the minimum age, the Commission argues that current verification mechanisms are ineffective at stopping underage registrations. Furthermore, the Commission highlighted that minors can easily bypass age restrictions by providing false birth dates during account creation. Authorities also criticized Meta's reporting tools, noting that the process for flagging underage accounts requires seven complex steps and often lacks proper follow-up. Finally, the Commission described Meta's mandatory risk assessment as incomplete, failing to adequately address the platform's impact on younger users.