EU questions Apple, Google, Snapchat, YouTube over risks to children

This combination of photos shows logos of X, formerly known as Twitter, top left; Snapchat, top right; Facebook, bottom left; and TikTok, bottom right. (AP Photo)

The EU on Friday demanded tech giants Apple, Google, Snapchat and YouTube explain what steps they are taking to protect children online.

The European Commission has sent requests for information under the Digital Services Act to Apple, Google, Snapchat and YouTube, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters before a meeting of EU ministers in Denmark.

“Privacy, security and safety have to be ensured, and this is not always the case, and that’s why the commission is tightening the enforcement of our rules,” Virkkunen said.

“Just today we have sent requests for information on four online platforms. To Snapchat, to YouTube, to Apple Store and Google Play, also to look at what kind of practices they are taking to protect minors online,” she added.

She would not provide more information but said the commission would share details in a press release later on Friday.

Also before the meeting, Danish Digital Minister Caroline Stage Olsen claimed people were using Snapchat to sell drugs.

The EU’s demands are not the first under the DSA.

Brussels is also probing Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.

Inspired by Australia’s social media ban for under-16s, Brussels is exploring whether such a measure could work in the 27-country bloc after several states including France and Spain pushed for limits on minors’ access to platforms.

Denmark, in charge of the rotating six-month EU presidency, has been pushing the bloc to take more action collectively to protect minors through new rules.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday Denmark planned to introduce a ban on social media for children under the age of 15.

The EU’s Digital Services Act, a mammoth law demanding platforms do more to tackle illegal content, contains provisions to ensure the safety of children online.

The ministers will discuss age verification on social media and what steps they can take to make the online world safer for minors.

They are expected to agree on a joint statement after the meeting on Friday in which they back EU chief Ursula von der Leyen’s plans to study a potential EU-wide digital majority age, according to a draft document seen by AFP.

Von der Leyen said last month she would establish a panel of experts “to assess what steps make sense” at the EU level on the issue.