The European Union has opened an investigation into Snapchat saying the social networking platform is not doing enough to protect children and stop illegal activity on its platform.
The probe, announced on Thursday, falls under the Digital Services Act, which requires large platforms to protect against harmful and illegal content or face heavy penalties.
EU officials say they are investigating how the app handles risks such as child grooming, exposure to drugs and other illegal goods, and weak account protections for younger users.
“From grooming and exposure to illegal products to account settings that undermine minors’ safety, Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
At the centre of the case is whether Snapchat has put in place enough precautions to stop adults from contacting or exploiting minors. Regulators are also examining how easily illegal goods such as drugs, vapes and alcohol can be promoted or sold through the platform.
The European Commission said Snapchat’s content moderation tools may not be strong enough to prevent such activity.
It also spoke about the company’s age verification system, which largely relies on users declaring their own age, as well as default settings that could leave younger users exposed.
Another issue under review is the platform’s design, including features regulators describe as “dark patterns”, which may make it harder for users to report problems or understand privacy settings.
Snapchat, owned by Snap Inc., said it is working with regulators and reviewing its systems to ensure child safety and general protection.
“We have fully cooperated with the Commission to date – engaging proactively, transparently and working in good faith to meet the DSA’s high safety standards – and we will continue to do so throughout this investigation,” a spokesperson said.
The Commission has also taken over an earlier investigation by Dutch authorities into the alleged sale of vapes to minors on the platform.
Snapchat has about 97 million monthly users across the EU, most of them teenagers and young adults. Regulators believe this makes the platform particularly vulnerable to abuse, including cases where adults pose as minors to target younger users.
Under the Digital Services Act, companies found in breach can be fined up to 6% of their global annual revenue. With Snap reporting about $5.2 billion in revenue last year, any penalty could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Generally, investigations regarding child safety and other aspects are already underway into TikTok, Meta Platforms, and AliExpress, among others, as regulators step up enforcement of the law, hence, this isn’t limited to Snapchat.
Brussels has made known it wants the Digital Services Act to set the standard for online safety, especially when it comes to protecting children.
