Story perspectives

EU Threatens Meta 6% Turnover Fine Over Child Safety Breach

4/30/2026

Summary

EU Fines Meta

EU announced Meta Platforms is breaching the Digital Services Act and faces a fine of up to 6% of its worldwide turnover.
Meta’s age-verification lets minors use false birth dates, lacks controls to delete under-13 accounts, and 10-12% of European children under 13 already use the platforms.
Meta disputed the findings, claiming its policies target users 13 and older and that it will announce new under-age protection measures next week.

Summary

Governments Ban Social

Greece, France, Spain, Denmark and UK’s House of Lords are moving to ban social-media for users under 15-16.
Australia enacted a world-first law prohibiting children under 16 from using social media and warned platforms of legal action.
The European Commission plans an EU-wide age-verification app that proves age without identity documents, aiming for a year-end rollout.
A Los Angeles jury awarded $6 million to a woman claiming childhood addiction to Meta.

History

Historical Context

The 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) barred sites from collecting data on users under 13, a rule that survived challenges culminating in a 2009 Supreme Court denial of further appeals. In 2020 the FTC fined Google $5.5 million for COPPA violations, and the European Commission now proposes age-verification mandates for Meta and other platforms, echoing the UK’s 2022 GDPR-style penalties.

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EU Fines Meta

EU announced Meta Platforms is breaching the Digital Services Act and faces a fine of up to 6% of its worldwide turnover.
Meta’s age-verification lets minors use false birth dates, lacks controls to delete under-13 accounts, and 10-12% of European children under 13 already use the platforms.
Meta disputed the findings, claiming its policies target users 13 and older and that it will announce new under-age protection measures next week.

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