Snapchat under investigation by EU over alleged failure to protect children on app
FILE - The Snapchat app can be seen on the display of a smartphone. Photo: Silas Stein/dpa (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Snapchat is under investigation by the European Union over the app’s alleged failure to prevent child grooming and the sale of illegal goods.
The EU is conducting the probe under the Digital Services Act.
This requires online platforms to mount efforts to prevent illegal and harmful content or risk facing fines as much as 6% of their global annual sales.
Probe focuses on 5 factors
Dig deeper:
The European Commission will be focusing on five areas in their investigation:
- Age assurance
- Grooming recruitment of minors for criminal activities
- Inadequate default account settings
- Dissemination of information on the sale of prohibited products
- Reporting illegal content
Big picture view:
The EU accused Snapchat of allowing the advertisement of illegal products such as vapes, alcohol and other age-restricted items on the app.
Additionally, officials alleged that Snapchat has an ineffective age-verification system.
The current mechanisms in place to notify Snapchat of illegal or harmful content are not adequate, the EU claimed.
What's next:
Snapchat said it was cooperating with EU regulators.
What they're saying:
"Snapchat is designed to help people communicate with close friends and family in a positive, trusted environment, with privacy and safety built in from the start — including additional protections for teens," the company said in a statement to The New York Times. "As online risks evolve, we continuously review, strengthen and invest in these safeguards."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from a news release from the European Union’ European Commission and reporting by Reuters and The New York Times. This story was reported from San Jose.