U.S. tech giants Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Snapchat (SNAP) are the latest companies to be grilled by the European Union over the risks their services pose to children.
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As part of a potential clampdown on social media, perhaps mirroring Australia’s ban on under-16s using such sites, the digital firms must explain how they are protecting children from online harm.
Investigative Actions
It follows pressure from European countries such as France and Spain for the EU to restrict children’s access to social media.
Now, as part of “investigative actions” under the Digital Services Act, the European Commission has sent a request for information to Snapchat about what steps it is taking to prevent access for children under 13. It also wants to know how it stops users from buying drugs and vapes.
It has also asked Apple’s App Store and the Google Play marketplace to provide details on measures taken to prevent children downloading illegal or harmful apps such as those linked to gambling services or sexual content.
The EU wants to know in particular how Apple and Google stop children downloading tools to create non-consensual sexualized content — so-called “nudify apps” — as well as how they apply apps’ age ratings.
Growing Pressure
In addition, it wants YouTube, owned by Alphabet, to provide details on its recommender system, “following reporting of harmful content being disseminated to minors.”
“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,” said the EU’s Henna Virkkunen.
The EU is already probing Meta’s (META) Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, over fears they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.
In addition, it was revealed earlier this week that a group of Italian families has filed a lawsuit against Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, for failing to enforce age restrictions and using addictive features that harm children’s mental health.
Europe is increasingly becoming an uncomfortable environment for U.S. tech.
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