Why do we say this now? Because the European Union has opened a formal investigation against Meta for considering that it is not doing enough to protect the mental and physical health of children who use its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.
The investigation announced by the European Commission on Thursday will assess whether Meta has violated the rules of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), pointing out that the user interface and algorithms of Facebook and Instagram can cause “behavioral addictions in children” and create “rabbit hole effects”.
? Today we open formal #DSA investigation against #Meta.
We are not convinced that Meta has done enough to comply with the DSA obligations — to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its platforms Facebook and Instagram. pic.twitter.com/WxPwgE5Opc
The EU claims that Meta is not interested in effective age verification
The EU is also concerned that Meta is not doing enough to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, and that their age verification tools may not be “reasonable, proportionate, and effective”.
The research will also evaluate whether the content recommendation systems and the default privacy settings of Meta provide sufficient privacy, security, and protection for minors.
The investigation follows Meta’s recent efforts to improve the safety of children on Facebook and Instagram, such as restricting their exposure to harmful content and limiting interaction with “suspicious” adult accounts, in an attempt to rectify their poor reputation in protecting children online.
The next steps of the Commission involve gathering additional evidence. There is no official deadline for the procedure, but the EU is authorized to take precautionary measures against Meta for the duration of the investigation.
If it is discovered that Meta has violated DSA regulations, it could face fines of up to six percent of the company’s global revenue, and EU Commissioner Thierry Breton stated on Twitter that “we spare no effort to protect young people”.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
{
"de-DE": "Journalist, spezialisiert auf Technologie, Unterhaltung und Videospiele. Über das zu schreiben, was mich begeistert (Gadgets, Spiele und Filme), ermöglicht es mir, bei Verstand zu bleiben und mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht aufzuwachen, wenn der Wecker klingelt. PS: Das stimmt nicht 100% der Zeit.",
"en-US": "Journalist specialized in technology, entertainment and video games. Writing about what I'm passionate about (gadgets, games and movies) allows me to stay sane and wake up with a smile on my face when the alarm clock goes off. PS: this is not true 100% of the time.",
"es-ES": "Content Manager - Periodista especializado en tecnología, entretenimiento y videojuegos. Escribir sobre lo que me apasiona (cacharros, juegos y cine) me permite seguir cuerdo y despertarme con una sonrisa cuando suena el despertador. PD: esto no es cierto el 100 % de las veces.",
"fr-FR": "Journaliste spécialisé dans la technologie, le divertissement et les jeux vidéo. Écrire sur ce qui me passionne (gadgets, jeux et films) me permet de rester sain d'esprit et de me réveiller avec le sourire aux lèvres quand le réveil sonne. PS : cela n'est pas vrai 100 % du temps.",
"it-IT": "Giornalista specializzato in tecnologia, intrattenimento e videogiochi. Scrivere di ciò che mi appassiona (gadget, giochi e film) mi permette di mantenere la sanità mentale e di svegliarmi con un sorriso sul viso quando suona la sveglia. PS: questo non è vero al 100% del tempo.",
"ja-JP": "",
"nl-NL": "",
"pl-PL": "",
"pt-BR": "Jornalista especializado em tecnologia, entretenimento e videogames. Escrever sobre o que me apaixona (gadgets, jogos e filmes) me permite manter a sanidade e acordar com um sorriso no rosto quando o despertador toca. PS: isso não é verdade 100% do tempo.",
"social": {
"email": "chemacs91@gmail.com",
"facebook": "",
"twitter": "https://twitter.com/chematopetazo",
"linkedin": ""
}
}
View all posts by Chema Carvajal Sarabia
