Meta preliminarily found in breach of EU’s DSA

The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta‘s Instagram and Facebook in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of minors under 13 years old accessing their services. Despite Meta’s own terms and conditions setting the minimum age to access Instagram and Facebook safely at 13, the measures put in place by the company to enforce these restrictions do not seem to be effective, the EU said in a statement, adding that the measures do not adequately prevent minors under the age of 13 from accessing their services nor promptly identify and remove them, if they already gained access. At this stage, the Commission considers that Instagram and Facebook must change their risk assessment methodology, in order to evaluate which risks arise on Instagram and Facebook in the European Union, and how they manifest. Moreover, Instagram and Facebook need to strengthen their measures to prevent, detect and remove minors under the age of 13 from their service. Meta must effectively counter and mitigate risks that minors under the age of 13 could experience on the platforms, which must ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors. If the Commission’s views are ultimately confirmed, the Commission may issue a non-compliance decision, which can trigger a fine proportionate to the infringement which shall in no case exceed 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the provider. The Commission can also impose periodic penalty payments to compel a platform to comply.