"Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off platforms", 29. April 2026

The tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms. Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services. The US tech company was unable to meet its own terms and conditions that set 13 as the minimum age to access Facebook and Instagram safely, the commission said.

Following an initial assessment, Meta was found in breach of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires it to “diligently identify and mitigate the risks” of under-13s using its platforms.

The commission said its preliminary findings “do not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation”.

A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with the preliminary findings: “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 spokesperson said understanding the age of users was “an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution” and that it continued to “engage constructively” with the commission.

Meta will now have the chance to examine the commission’s investigation file and mount a defence. If the finding against the Silicon Valley company is upheld, it could be fined up to 6% of its global annual turnover...