European Commission piles pressure on Meta after US settlement.
European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier has told reporters that Meta Platforms has a duty to protect children in the European Union, following the technology company’s landmark settlement in the USA over teen safety. Regnier said the Commission had been following the US case very closely and had held new exchanges with Meta since the settlement was announced on 26 August 2026.
The Commission’s stance is backed by formal enforcement. In July 2026, the Commission found Meta to be in breach of the DSA, one of several laws aimed at reining in large technology companies in the 27-nation bloc. It ordered Meta to propose changes to make its platforms safer for children, including disabling autoplay and endless scrolling by default, introducing screen-time breaks, and changing recommendation systems to reduce incentives to keep users engaged.
In April 2026, the Commission said Meta had failed to stop children under 13 from opening or maintaining accounts. The US settlement could make it harder for Meta to argue that tougher age-verification measures are impractical.
Regnier noted that the Commission was probing Meta for exactly the same suspicions as those raised in the US case, and was in dialogue with the company to secure at least equally good protection for children in the EU. He said the Commission expected proper screen time management and proper parental control on Meta’s platforms.
Brussels has called out risks for children linked to Facebook and Instagram features including endless scroll, highly personalised feeds and the automatic playback of videos. Regnier added that it was now up to the company to propose adopting these commitments within the EU to protect children there as well.
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