The European Union (EU) has launched a probe into Meta’s child safety efforts. The commission fears that Meta’s efforts may have fallen short of regulatory requirements.
This move from the EU comes a few weeks after the commission announced another investigation into Meta about the platform’s failure to counter disinformation.
Here is how the EU Commission explains the investigation.
“Today, the Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether Meta, the provider of Facebook and Instagram, may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the protection of minors. The Commission is concerned that the systems of both Facebook and Instagram, including their algorithms, may stimulate behavioral addictions in children, as well as create so-called ‘rabbit-hole effects’. In addition, the Commission is also concerned about age-assurance and verification methods put in place by Meta.”
Under the DSA, large social media companies operating in Europe are required to “take appropriate and proportionate measures to protect minors that may stimulate behavioral addictions of recipients of the service.”
In simple terms, the EU Commission is not convinced that Meta has done enough to address these concerns. Meanwhile, Meta has replied with a straightforward PR answer that is looking forward to working with the EU Commission to allay their concerns.
The probe also has multiple focus areas and they will investigate potential DSA violations stemming from Meta’s plans to discontinue CrowdTangle, a tool that allows researchers and journalists to track election-related content on its platforms.
Companies violating DSA can face up to 6% of global revenue and the EU can order a change in the business practices that were found to breach a law.
Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment Policy.