EU says Meta is failing to keep underage users off Facebook and Instagram

A Meta logo is shown on a video screen at LlamaCon 2025, an AI developer conference, in Menlo Park, Calif., April 29, 2025. Jeff Chiu/AP hide caption toggle caption Jeff Chiu/AP LONDON — The European Union accused Meta on Wednesday of failing to stop underage users from accessing Facebook and Instagram, in violation of the bloc's tough digital rules that require social media sites to protect minors. The EU's executive branch said Meta Platforms lacked effective measures to prevent children younger than 13 from signing up, and that it was not doing enough to identify and remove children after they had opened accounts. Meta's own minimum age to open an account on Facebook or Instagram is 13. The problem is not just that children are getting access. The European Commission said Meta is also inadequately assessing the risk of children younger than 13 being exposed to "age-inappropriate experiences" on the platforms. Meta disagreed with the decision, saying that it has measures in place to detect and remove accounts for anyone younger than 13. "Understanding age is an industry-wide challenge, which requires an industry-wide solution, and we will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on this important issue," the company said in a statement, adding it will have more to share next week about additional measures it plans to roll out soon. …