The European Commission will investigate whether Meta complies with DSA rules on the protection of minors on its social media platforms.

The European Commission is opening a formal procedure to determine whether Meta has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) to protect minors. This is not the first time that Meta has come into contact with the European Commission. A separate investigation was previously conducted into Meta’s alleged failure to spread political disinformation. Fines for non-compliance with the DSA can be up to 6 percent, which for Meta amounts to around 8.5 billion euros.

Three violations

With the DSA, Europe wants to clearly regulate online platforms. Thousands of platforms must comply with these regulations. The European Commission is currently targeting Meta, which has Facebook and Instagram under its wing. The EU is investigating three possible violations of the DSA by Meta.

First, the EU will investigate whether Meta has assessed and mitigated the risks arising from the design of Facebook and Instagram’s online interfaces. Specifically, the EU wants to investigate whether the company took advantage of the inexperience of minors, which can lead to addictive behavior.

In addition, it is being investigated whether Meta has done enough to ensure that minors do not have access to inappropriate content. Finally, the Commission will assess whether Meta has taken the appropriate measures to ensure a high level of privacy and security for minors.

Youth protection

The European Commission has had its hands full lately enforcing DSA regulations. A few days ago, an investigation was opened against X for possible violations of the DSA.

Meta told The Register: “We want young people to have safe, age-appropriate online experiences and have spent a decade developing more than 50 tools, features and resources to keep them safe.”