US EditionSnapchat Hit with EU Probe Into Alleged Failure to Prevent Child ...
The European Commission suspects Snapchat's safety measures enable child exploitation and illegal sales, risking fines up to 6% of global annual sales under the Digital Services Act.
- On Thursday, the European Commission opened a formal investigation into Snapchat, alleging the platform fails to adequately protect minors from grooming, illegal drug sales, and age-inappropriate content under the Digital Services Act.
- The Commission's probe follows three years of risk assessment reports and an October 10, 2025 information request, while also absorbing a separate investigation by Dutch regulators last September into vape sales to children.
- Investigators argue Snapchat's self-declaration age assurance system is insufficient and fails to verify if users are younger than 17 years, which the Commission says is necessary for an "age-appropriate experience."
- A Snapchat spokesperson stated the company has acted proactively to meet the Digital Services Act's requirements, though the platform risks fines of as much as 6% of its global annual sales if found non-compliant.
- Beyond this probe, Snapchat faces broader industry scrutiny regarding minor safety, including recent settlements with Meta, YouTube, and TikTok over addictive platform features that harmed a 20-year-old user.
14 Articles
14 Articles
BRUSSELS — The European Commission launched a wide-ranging investigation into Snapchat on Thursday for failing to protect children on its social network. This is the latest in a series of investigations targeting a platform that has allegedly not complied with its obligations under the European Digital Services Regulation (DSA). Other investigations have been launched into AliExpress, Facebook and Instagram (owned by Meta), TikTok, and four porn…
EU Launches Investigation Into Snapchat’s Compliance With Laws Protecting Children From Grooming
The European Commission (EC) has launched an investigation into Snapchat over concerns the social media platform is not doing enough to protect children from sexual grooming attempts and recruitment for criminal activity. The European Union’s executive branch said in a March 26 statement that it was opening formal proceedings “to investigate if Snapchat is ensuring a high level of safety, privacy and security for children online,” in compliance …
The Snapchat platform entered the EU's view after the European Commission opened a survey on how the socialisation network respects the protection rules of children. The investigation suggests that the platform is unable to prevent access to minors and exposes them to serious risks, including efforts to grow up and contain illegal content, according to DPA and Agerpres.
EU opens probe into Snapchat for violation of child safety, privacy rules
European Commission to examine whether platform’s age-verification tools, default settings, safeguards exposed children to harmful content, criminal activity, illegal product sales - Anadolu Ajansı
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