The European Commission has made preliminarily finding that Meta is in breach of the Digital Services Act for failing to prevent children under-13 from accessing Instagram and Facebook.

The Commission has said the measures put in place by the social media company, to enforce the restrictions, do not seem to be effective and do not promptly identify and remove underage users  if they've already gained access to the platforms.

The preliminary findings are part of the European Commission's formal proceedings which were launched against Instagram and Facebook in May 2024.

The European Commission said Meta is failing to diligently identify, assess and mitigate the risks of children under 13 from accessing their services online.

An in-depth investigation also found the tool for reporting under age profiles on the platforms is difficult to use, and takes up to seven clicks to access the reporting form.

If the findings are confirmed, Meta can be fined more than 6 per cent of its total worldwide annual turnover.

A spokesperson for the tech giant has said it disagrees with the preliminary findings and it will continue to engage with the Commission on the issue.

The social media company has said will have more information to share next week about additional measures being rolled out to remove underage users.