Amid a growing crackdown on digital platforms, the European Union has decided to accelerate efforts to protect minors by opening a formal investigation into Snapchat and simultaneously pursuing proceedings against several pornographic websites.
At the center of Brussels’ attention are the risks of grooming, the spread of illegal content, and the responsibilities of major tech companies in protecting younger users.
THE EU INVESTIGATION INTO SNAPCHAT
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into Snapchat under the Digital Services Act (DSA), suspecting that the platform does not provide adequate safety levels for minors. The inquiry represents the first official proceeding against the company following previous information requests, including one sent last October regarding child protection measures.
According to Brussels, the app might allow adults to pretend to be minors to contact children and teenagers for sexual exploitation or recruitment into criminal activities. “From grooming to exposure to illegal products, to account settings that compromise minors’ safety, Snapchat seems to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act requires high safety standards for all users,” Henna Virkkunen stated.
AGE VERIFICATION AND RISKS FOR MINORS
One of the central aspects concerns age verification systems. The Commission considers Snapchat’s self-declaration model insufficient, which allows users to register simply by declaring they are over 13 years old.
According to European officials, the platform’s age verification system is among the weakest on the market and presents a dual risk: minors pretending to be adults and adults pretending to be minors. Moreover, there are concerns that users under 13 can still access the service and that teenagers under 17 are exposed to inappropriate content.
ILLEGAL CONTENT AND USER SAFETY
Another front concerns the spread of illegal content and the platform’s ability to counter it. The Commission suspects that moderation systems are ineffective in limiting the circulation of information related to the sale of drugs, alcohol, and e-cigarettes.
At the same time, Brussels will assess whether minors are adequately protected from contact with users with harmful intentions and whether default account settings ensure sufficient safety levels.
There are also criticisms of illegal content reporting mechanisms, considered difficult to access and potentially configured as “dark patterns,” i.e., deceptive design practices banned by the DSA.
SANCTIONS AND EUROPEAN MEASURES
If violations are confirmed, Snap, the app’s parent company, could be fined up to 6% of its global annual turnover under the DSA provisions. The investigation, adds Euronews, also includes elements already examined by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), particularly regarding the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.
The Commission, recalls Bloomberg, has already opened more than a dozen similar proceedings since the DSA came into force in 2022, but only one has so far resulted in a fine. To avoid sanctions, companies under investigation can still propose corrective measures.
Meanwhile, the EU is developing an age verification system that would allow users to prove they are over 18 without sharing personal data, currently being tested in some Member States.
SNAPCHAT’S RESPONSE
Snapchat has stated it is fully cooperating with the Commission and committed to complying with DSA standards. “So far, we have fully cooperated with the Commission – engaging proactively, transparently, and in good faith to meet the high safety standards of the DSA – and we will continue to do so throughout this investigation,” a spokesperson said.
“The safety and well-being of all Snapchat users is a top priority,” and the platform is designed “with privacy and security built in from the start – including additional protections for teenagers.” The company added: “As online risks evolve, we continuously review, strengthen, and invest in these protective measures.”
INVESTIGATIONS INTO PORNOGRAPHIC SITES
At the same time, the Commission has pursued investigations into four pornographic platforms: PornHub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos, accused of failing to effectively prevent minors’ access to adult content.
The conclusions found that self-declaration-based verification systems – such as simply clicking a button to confirm being over 18 – were deemed inadequate. The platforms could therefore face sanctions similar to those envisaged for Snapchat.
A representative of XVideos criticized the Commission’s approach stating it “is asking us to commit suicide needlessly. Adding age checks on four sites out of a million does nothing to prevent minors from accessing adult content.”
GLOBAL PRESSURE ON PLATFORMS
European initiatives fit into an international context of growing attention to the impact of digital platforms on younger users. In the United States, a recent ruling found that Meta Platforms and Alphabet are liable for designing addictive services, with a compensation of 3 million dollars.
At the same time, several EU countries are pushing to further strengthen child protection measures, while the debate continues on possible restrictions on social media access for younger users. According to data cited by the Commission, platform use among young people remains high, with half of 10-year-olds in Denmark and a third of 11-year-olds in France using Snapchat, despite the minimum age limit set at 13 years.
