The European Commission issued preliminary findings on April 29 that Meta violates the Digital Services Act by relying on self-declared birthdates — with no verification mechanism — to enforce its minimum age of 13 on Facebook and Instagram. The Commission found approximately 10–12% of users under 13 are accessing the platforms, contradicting Meta's own internal risk assessments; the process for reporting a suspected underage user requires up to seven steps with no auto-fill and frequently yields no follow-up action. If the preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta faces a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, potentially several billion euros.