Proactive Investors - European Union regulators have launched a probe into the potentially addictive effects Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB)’s Instagram and Facebook (NASDAQ:META) have on children.
An investigation was launched on Thursday, relating to whether the social media apps encouraged “rabbit hole” effects by drawing users further and further in.
Meta’s age verification tools will also be studied, EU internal markets commissioner Thierry Breton said, alongside privacy offerings for minors on the apps.
“We are sparing no effort to protect our children,” he said.
The investigation marks the second into Meta since the EU’s Digital Services Act came into force last year.
This had set in place sweeping rules aimed at protecting children online.
Under the legislation, regulators can impose fines of up to 6% of companies' annual turnover.
Breton added he was “not convinced” that Meta had “done enough to comply with [...] obligations to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its platforms Facebook and Instagram”.
Companies that are found to have repeatedly broken Digital Services Act rules could be banned from the EU single market under the legislation.
Meta responded that it wanted “young people to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online”.
“[We] have spent a decade developing more than 50 tools and policies designed to protect them,” the company added.
“This is a challenge the whole industry is facing, and we look forward to sharing details of our work with the European Commission.”
Shares fell 1.1% in pre-market trading.