The European Commission has accused Meta of violating the law by allowing children access to social media

The European Commission has released preliminary findings stating that Meta violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to adequately block access to Instagram and Facebook for children under 13. The investigation found that the existing age verification system is ineffective, as children can easily bypass the restrictions by providing a false date of birth. 

This was reported on the European Commission’s website, noting that the platforms are not doing enough to comply with their own terms of service.

European Commission Executive Vice-President Hennu Virkkunen emphasized that, according to the regulator’s estimates, approximately 10–12% of children in the EU under the age of 13 use Meta’s services, which contradicts the company’s official data. In addition to age verification issues, the Commission is examining interface designs that may lead to addictive behavior and create a “rabbit hole” effect, negatively impacting the mental health of young people. Such threats to digital security are becoming particularly acute amid hybrid attacks by Russia, which uses social media for disinformation.

If these violations are officially confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to 6% of its total annual global turnover. The European Commission insists on the implementation of stricter and more reliable age verification tools to protect minors from potentially harmful content and exploitation. The company now has the opportunity to present its arguments and a plan to rectify the situation before the regulator’s final decision.

Meta CEO and billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has decided to shut down one of the company’s largest and most costly projects—the Horizon Worlds metaverse—which has incurred losses of $80 billion. Support for the VR platform on Quest devices will end by mid-June, and the app will disappear from the app store by the end of March.

Additionally, Meta Platforms Inc. announced a price increase for its Quest VR devices due to a significant rise in production costs for high-performance equipment. The changes took effect on April 19 and will affect markets in the U.S., the U.K., Europe, and Japan.