EU Warns Meta of Massive Fine After Probe Finds Children Under 13 Accessing Facebook and Instagram

The European Union has escalated pressure on Meta Platforms after preliminary findings from regulators concluded the company failed to adequately stop children under 13 from creating accounts on Facebook and Instagram. The case could expose Meta to penalties worth as much as 6% of its annual global revenue if the allegations are formally confirmed.

The warning marks one of the most serious child safety enforcement actions yet under the European Union’s European Commission Digital Services Act, a landmark law designed to hold large technology platforms accountable for harmful practices, illegal content and risks to minors online.

According to the Commission, investigators found that children under 13 were able to bypass platform rules simply by entering false birth dates during signup. Regulators said Meta did not implement effective controls to verify whether a user’s self declared age was accurate.

The Commission stated that both Facebook and Instagram failed to sufficiently detect and remove accounts that had already been identified as belonging to underage users. Regulators also criticized the process available to users who want to report underage accounts, saying it can take up to seven clicks to reach the reporting form and often lacks proper follow up.

That criticism strikes at the heart of a growing concern in Europe that platforms have relied too heavily on self reporting systems while offering limited practical safeguards.

The findings released Wednesday are preliminary, meaning the process is not yet complete. Meta will now have the opportunity to review the evidence, examine documents and submit a formal written response.

The company may also choose to introduce corrective measures before a final ruling is issued. However, if the Commission ultimately confirms the violations, Meta could face a fine worth up to 6% of its annual worldwide turnover under the Digital Services Act.

In addition to a direct fine, the EU warned it could impose recurring penalty payments to force compliance if changes are not made.

For a company of Meta’s size, any penalty at that level would be substantial and would send a powerful signal across the global technology sector.

Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, said the company’s own rules already state that its services are not intended for children under 13.

She said preliminary findings indicate Facebook and Instagram are doing very little to prevent children below that age from accessing their services.

The statement underlines a broader shift in Europe, where regulators are increasingly demanding not just written policies from platforms, but real systems that work in practice.

The Meta case comes during a broader European campaign to strengthen online child protections and enforce age verification rules across major digital platforms.

Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen announced a new EU backed age verification solution intended to help platforms confirm whether users meet minimum age requirements.

European officials said the tool is designed to verify age without forcing users to hand over sensitive personal information directly to platforms. That privacy preserving approach is meant to answer one of the biggest criticisms of digital ID checks.

However, the initiative has already faced scrutiny. Privacy campaigners have raised concerns about surveillance risks, while some cybersecurity researchers claimed they were able to breach parts of the system within minutes.

That debate shows how difficult it remains to balance child safety, privacy rights and platform responsibility in the modern internet era.

The EU’s action against Meta is likely to be watched closely far beyond Europe. Governments in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere are examining stricter rules for teen safety, screen time controls and age verification systems.

If the EU succeeds in forcing structural changes at Facebook and Instagram, those reforms could ripple into other markets, just as earlier European privacy laws influenced global standards.

For Meta, the stakes are not only financial. Child safety has become one of the most politically sensitive issues facing social media companies. A formal ruling against the company could deepen reputational pressure and accelerate demands for tougher safeguards worldwide.

The next phase will focus on Meta’s response and whether regulators believe the company can fix the alleged weaknesses voluntarily. The Commission can then decide whether to close the matter with remedies or proceed toward sanctions.

Until then, the message from Brussels is clear: platforms that host millions of young users are expected to do more than publish rules. They are expected to enforce them.

For Meta, one of the world’s most influential social media companies, that warning may prove more consequential than the fine itself.