DSA: Snapchat is next as Brussels launches probe into the online protection of minors

Brussels – Snapchat could expose minors to “grooming attempts and recruitment for criminal purposes” and to “information about the sale of illegal goods.” Brussels is turning the spotlight on the social media and instant messaging service based in Santa Monica, California, and has launched an investigation to assess its compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA). “Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Henna Virkkunen. 

The DSA’s axe has already been wielded against all the digital platform giants: Meta, X, TikTok, as well as Temu and Shein. A few months ago, a 120 million euro  fine was imposed on Elon Musk’s social media platform. This time, the European Commission has announced that the investigation into Snapchat will focus on five areas. First and foremost, age verification: although Snapchat’s “Terms and Conditions” require a minimum age of 13 to use the platform, Brussels suspects that “reliance on self-declaration as an age assurance measure is insufficient.” Furthermore, according to the Commission, the tool intended to report the presence of under-13s on the platform is not actually available to users. 

The lack of age verification has another, far more dangerous implication: by allowing its services to be misused by adults who, by failing to disclose their true age at the time of registration or by altering it subsequently, pretend to be minors, Snapchat exposes minors to the risk of being contacted by users with malicious intent. The Commission speaks, in no uncertain terms, of “grooming for sexual exploitation or recruitment for criminal activities.” To complete the picture, children and teenagers are automatically recommended to other users via the “Find Friends” system. 

At the same time, the Commission has concerns about the platform’s content moderation tools, which “do not appear to be effective” in preventing the dissemination of information directing users to the sale of illegal products or products prohibited to minors, such as drugs, e-cigarettes, and alcohol. Here too, Snapchat is not helping matters: the mechanisms for reporting illegal content are “neither easy to access nor user-friendly,” according to the EU executive.

The DSA’s history shows that investigations can drag on for months and that, generally speaking, it is far easier to open new proceedings than to close them. It is likely that the Commission will send information requests to Snapchat and conduct interviews or inspections to gather further evidence. It may accept any commitments from Snapchat to remedy the shortcomings, or conversely, adopt interim measures against the platform. The investigation itself, according to a statement from the EU executive, is based on Snapchat’s responses to a request for information sent by Brussels in October, as well as on an analysis of Snapchat’s risk assessment reports from the last three years.