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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta\u00a0<\/strong>–\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>European Union’s executive arm\u00a0<\/span>on Wednesday accused Meta<\/a> of failing to protect young children from the harms of social media.<\/p>\n As reported by DW, <\/em>the European Commission said Meta, the company behind several social media platforms like\u00a0<\/span>Facebook, Instagram\u00a0and WhatsApp, breached its own rules of only\u00a0allowing children above 13 years of age on their platforms.<\/p>\n “Terms and conditions should not be mere written statements, but rather the basis for concrete action to protect users, including children,” said EU digital\u00a0tsar Henna Virkkunen.<\/p>\n Meta will be given the chance to defend itself\u00a0since the EU findings are preliminary. If confirmed, Meta will likely face hefty fines.<\/p>\n The European Commission said in a statement that its investigation\u00a0revealed that Meta’s own rules about allowing\u00a0children above 13 were\u00a0not sufficiently enforced or regulated.<\/p>\n When creating an account, minors below 13 can enter a false birth date and there are no effective controls to check whether that is correct.<\/p>\n “Meta’s tool for reporting minors under 13 on the platform is difficult to use and not effective, requiring up to seven clicks just to access the reporting form, which is not automatically pre-filled with the user’s information,” the statement added. The EU<\/a> has a law called the\u00a0<\/span>Digital Services Act (DSA)\u00a0that helps it tackle the spread of illegal content on social media platforms, search engines, and online marketplaces.<\/p>\n That means the EU also has the power to impose hefty fines,\u00a0<\/span>as it has, on platforms and search engines\u00a0that aren’t keeping with the rules of its digital playbook.<\/p>\n The European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta broke the rules of the Digital Services Act.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Europe has more\u00a0<\/span>generally leaned toward regulating social platforms\u00a0using the DSA\u00a0rather than banning children from accessing social media<\/a> accounts.<\/p>\n The EU earlier this month, for example, announced a\u00a0<\/span>new age verification app\u00a0<\/span>that is set to be rolled out soon.\u00a0The app is meant to make sure that users verify their age before accessing certain platforms without having to share all their personal information with the sites they’re trying to access.<\/p>\n Australia became the first country in the world to implement a\u00a0<\/span>social media ban for under-16s,\u00a0and others like the UK, France, and Denmark have been\u00a0<\/span>considering similar moves.<\/p>\n Germany has shown support for raising the minimum age\u00a0<\/span>for platforms like Instagram<\/a> and TikTok so children spend less time on their phones.<\/p>\n Read:\u00a0<\/i><\/b>China Blocks Meta’s $2B Acquisition of AI Startup Manus<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nWhat the European Commission said about Meta breaching its own rules<\/h2>\n
EU\u00a0stays in the fight to curb online harms to children<\/h2>\n
EU announces new age verification app<\/h2>\n
Countries are considering social media\u00a0bans for under-16s. What about Europe?<\/h2>\n