The European Union has opened an investigation into Snapchat on Thursday as regulators voiced concerns over the platform’s inadequate measures to protect child safety.
The recent probe comes on the allegations that Snapchat has failed kids in child grooming and promoting the sale of illegal goods as reported by Reuters.
According to the Commission, Snapchat does not have adequate safety guardrails to prevent children from being contacted by adults, thereby making them vulnerable to criminal activities and sexual abuse.
The EU bloc has carried out this scrutiny under the Digital Services Act, requiring the online social media platforms to either curb harmful content or risk bearing hefty fines as much as percent of their annual global sales.
The commission is now expected to take over the investigation earlier launched by Dutch’s regulators last September.
Failures in the company’s moderation systems allowed users to be directed toward illicit drugs and restricted goods such as vapes and alcohol.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen issued a statement, “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.”
Besides failures in child grooming, Snapchat has failed to implement robust self-declaration age assurances. Moreover, the platform’s inadequate default account settings, and its mechanisms to allow users to report dark patterns in its design, has raised concerns among regulators.