Brussels has opened an infringement case against Facebook and Instagram for attempting to involve minors in their networks.

This Thursday, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Meta, given that Facebook and Instagram promote addiction among minors and that the company has not taken effective measures to eliminate it. “We are not convinced that it has done enough to meet the obligations of the Digital Services Act to reduce the risks of negative impacts on the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its Facebook and Instagram platforms,” the EU Commissioner said. Internal market, Thierry Breton.

Brussels believes that the algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram “exploit the weakness and inexperience of minors” by showing them content based on their interests, thereby contributing to their dependence on social networks, the statement explained.

It also believes that Facebook and Instagram’s age verification tools are neither reasonable, proportionate nor effective in preventing minors from accessing inappropriate content. And that the privacy and security measures that Facebook and Instagram have by default do not sufficiently protect minors.

After reviewing the risk analysis that Meta sent him last year, the community leader suspects that the company will violate the Digital Services Act, so he decided to launch an investigation. This, for which there is no time limit, allows the Commission to take precautionary measures against Facebook and Instagram, as it has already done with TikTok, forcing it to suspend its points program (under which it paid users for watching videos) in Spain and France. .

Since the digital services law came into force, which obliges platforms to protect minors, remove illegal content and increase transparency in algorithm development, Brussels has filed four infringement cases against Meta, two against TikTok and one against AliExpress.

elDiario.es has contacted Meta to include its position in this information, but has not received a response at this time.