May 16, 2024 12:35 pm
The age verification methods implemented by the Silicon Valley giant are also under scrutiny
Tgcom24
The first warning in November
As underlined by the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thiery Breton, “we are not convinced that Meta has done enough to comply with the obligations of the Digital Services Act to mitigate the risks of negative effects on the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its Facebook and Instagram”. The group led by Mark Zuckerberg had already been warned in November about possible violations against the protection of minors, but its responses to formal requests from Brussels were not considered reassuring.
The focus of the EU
The EU investigation concerns, in detail, Meta’s compliance with obligations regarding risk assessment and mitigation in the design of Facebook and Instagram interfaces, “which can exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and cause addiction” and “reinforce” the most harmful effects on mental health. Brussels will also evaluate the Menlo Park company’s compliance with the requirements necessary to prevent children and adolescents from accessing inappropriate content, in particular age verification tools which – it is suspected – “may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective “.
Risk of fine
The investigation will be conducted as a priority and will allow the EU executive to continue to accumulate evidence and put pressure on Meta to improve its action to protect adolescents. During the investigation, Breton’s team will have the power to adopt provisional measures and non-compliance decisions. For those who violate the rules, the Digital Services Act provides for fines of up to 6% of the companies’ global annual turnover and, in case of repeat violations, a ban on operating in Europe.
The TikTok case
On April 22, the EU, moved by the same fears relating to the protection of teenagers, opened an investigation into TikTok, leading the popular Chinese social network to suspend its prize program on the Lite app in France and Spain a few days later. .
