In another moment of reckoning for social media giants around the world, the European Commission, the EU body that enforces its laws, has preliminarily found Meta’s Facebook and Instagram in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to keep kids under 13 away. 

The commission launched formal proceedings back in May 2024 with the aim of determining whether the company had failed to implement effective measures to determine the ages of users on the platforms. 

“Meta’s own general conditions indicate their services are not intended for minors under 13,” said Henna Virkkunen, EVP for tech sovereignty, security and democracy at the EU Commission. “Yet, our preliminary findings show that Instagram and Facebook are doing very little to prevent children below this age from accessing their services.” 

Kids have the ability to enter fake birth dates without verification, the commission alleges. Meta’s system for reporting minors is also laborious, and the system lacks follow-ups that effectively keep kids off the platforms. 

If the commission’s views are confirmed, Meta could ultimately get slapped with a fine up to a maximum of 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover (Meta’s revenue was US$200 billion for full-year 2025). And the company could incur further penalties if it doesn’t strengthen measures for keeping under-13s off the platforms. 

In its release about the findings, the commission alleges that Meta doesn’t grasp the harm that can befall young kids who are exposed to age-inappropriate content. And EU data indicates that roughly 10% to 12% of kids under 13 are using Instagram or Facebook.

Meta disagrees with the findings, the company said in a statement to The Guardian. “We’re clear that Instagram and Facebook are intended for people aged 13 and older and we have measures in place to detect and remove accounts from anyone under that age. We continue to invest in technologies to find and remove underage users and will have more to share next week about additional measures rolling out soon.”

The EU’s preliminary findings arrive as the relationship between social media platforms and kids faces a global reckoning. Meta recently lost two high-profile cases in the US that found that the company did not sufficiently protect kids on its platforms. And governments around the world, starting with Australia, have been banning social media for children, or examining how to do it. Some platforms, like Roblox, are scrambling to get on the right side of parents, kids and lawmakers with new features and protections meant to keep kids away from adult users. 

With all these changes, the landscape for kids on social media platforms is set to look very different in the near future—with the caveat, of course, that the bans actually change anything; Australia’s might not be working, according to some local reports. For brands, this worldwide upheaval is causing a pivot toward alternative digital spaces and IRL experiences to reach kids. Kid-friendly social media platforms like Zigazoo and Kinzoo, which are also potential partners for brands looking to reach children, could also see boosts from the bans.  

Amid all this, the European Commission is continuing to investigate Meta for other potential breaches, including whether Facebook and Instagram’s interfaces could be creating addictive experiences for kids. 

“The DSA requires platforms to enforce their own rules: terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users–including children,” said Virkkunen.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash