The European Commission today launched formal proceedings to assess whether Meta, the operator of Facebook and Instagram, may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas related 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. In addition, the Commission is also concerned about the age assurance and verification methods applied by Meta.

Today’s initiation of the process is based on a preliminary analysis of the risk assessment report sent by Meta in September 2023, Meta’s responses to the Commission’s official requests for information (on the protection of minors and risk assessment methodology), publicly available reports as well as the Commission’s own analysis.

Current procedures concern the following areas:

– Meta’s compliance with the DSA obligations regarding the assessment and mitigation of the risks caused by the design of the Facebook and Instagram web interfaces, which may exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and cause addictive behavior and/or reinforce the so-called “rabbit hole” phenomenon (the child’s inability to separate himself from the Internet, whether it is social media or other Internet-related activities). Such an assessment is required to address possible risks to the exercise of the fundamental right to physical and mental well-being of children as well as respect for their rights.

– Meta’s compliance with the requirements of the DSA in relation to mitigation measures to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, in particular age verification tools used by Meta, which may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective.

– Meta’s compliance with the DSA’s obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors, in particular with regard to the default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and operation of their recommendation systems .

If proven, these failures constitute breaches of sections 28, 34 and 35 of the DSA. The commencement of formal proceedings is without prejudice to its outcome and is without prejudice to any other proceedings which the Commission may decide to take for any other conduct which may constitute a breach under the DSA.

– Next steps –

The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority and continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.

The initiation of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement action, such as taking interim measures and non-compliance decisions. The Commission is also authorized to accept commitments made by Meta to address the issues raised in the proceeding.