MEPs urge EU to act against Meta over protections for children online
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European lawmakers are urging the European Commission to force Meta to change the “addictive” design of its platforms in Europe, arguing that children in the European Union should receive protections at least as strong as those recently agreed for users in the United States.
Meta agreed last month to pay a coalition of U.S. states as much as $16.7 billion and introduce sweeping new restrictions on how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, including an automatic nighttime block, as part of a landmark court settlement.
The 27-nation EU has been seeking similar changes. In July, it told Meta to address what it described as the platforms’ “addictive design,” findings the company said it disagreed with at the time.
A letter dated Wednesday from French EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin and signed by 51 other members of the European Parliament from across the political spectrum urged the Commission to act quickly.
“European children are worth no less than American ones,” the lawmakers said.
They argued it would be “untenable” for European minors to receive weaker protection when the EU’s regulatory framework is among the most demanding in the world.
Lawmakers call for penalties and possible platform shutdown
The MEPs called on the European Commission, the EU’s digital regulator, to conclude its investigation into Meta “without further delay” and issue a non-compliance decision accompanied by penalties.
If the Commission accepts commitments from Meta, they said, those measures “must on no account fall short” of the protections recently granted to American users.
The lawmakers also urged the EU to be prepared to seek a court-ordered temporary block on access to Meta’s platforms if necessary, once other enforcement powers have been exhausted and violations continue to cause serious harm.
They said such a measure would not amount to censorship or a ban on social media, but would demonstrate that enforcement threats have consequences.
The lawmakers argued that technology companies could absorb fines as a business expense, while a shutdown ordered by a judge would directly affect their business model.
They also accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of failing to deliver on a political commitment to make online spaces safer for children.
“Will the protection of minors online still be among your priorities?” they asked. “The Commission speaks but does not deliver.”
The EU opened its investigation into Meta in 2024 under the Digital Services Act, a sweeping content law that has faced strong criticism from the United States.
The DSA is a central part of the EU’s expanded legal framework for regulating major technology companies.
The EU is expected to announce some form of social media ban or restriction for children later this month, although the full details have yet to be disclosed.
