Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Alex Vuong | beautiful images
Facebook parent company Meta on Thursday was hit by a major investigation from the European Union over allegations of violating the bloc’s strict online content laws over child safety risks.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that it was investigating whether the social media giant’s Facebook and Instagram platforms “could stimulate behavioral addictions in children.” children, as well as creating the so-called ‘rabbit hole effect'”.
The commission added that it was concerned about age verification on Meta’s platform.
Meta did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The decision to initiate an investigation was based on a preliminary analysis of the risk assessment report provided by Meta in September 2023, the Commission said.
The EU said it would launch an in-depth investigation into Meta’s child protection measures “as a matter of priority”. The Division may continue to gather evidence through requests for information, interviews or inspections.
The Commission could consider the commitments made by Meta to address its concerns.
Meta and US tech giants have increasingly been the focus of EU scrutiny since the enactment of the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act, a groundbreaking piece of legislation by European Commission aims to tackle harmful content.
Under the EU’s DSA, companies can be fined up to 6% of their global annual turnover for violations. The bloc has yet to issue fines to any tech giants under the new law.
In December 2023, the EU opened infringement proceedings against X, the company formerly known as Twitter, on suspicion of failing to combat disinformation and content manipulation.
