Snapchat's child safety probed by EU Commission

EU Launches Major Investigation into Snapchat's Child Protection Measures

The European Commission has initiated a significant investigation into Snapchat, scrutinising whether the popular social media platform adequately protects minors from grooming and criminal recruitment, potentially violating the EU's stringent digital safety laws. With an estimated 94.5 million European users in 2025, according to the company's own transparency reports, Snapchat's reach among young people is substantial.

The Commission's concerns centre on the platform's potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by adults. Investigators suspect that adults might be able to pose as younger users, thereby enabling them to contact children. These interactions could then lead to recruitment for illegal activities or, more disturbingly, sexual exploitation.

Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy, underscored the gravity of the situation. "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," she stated. "With this investigation, we will closely look into their compliance with our legislation."

This formal probe falls under the purview of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The investigation was triggered by a review of Snapchat's risk assessments conducted between 2023 and 2025, along with supplementary information the Commission received last October concerning the platform's age verification processes and its handling of illegal activities. The commencement of these formal proceedings signals the possibility of further enforcement actions down the line. Snapchat will have the opportunity to propose amendments to its policies and operational practices in response to the investigation's findings.

Responding to the announcement, a Snapchat spokesperson emphasised that "the safety and wellbeing of all Snapchatters is a top priority." They added that the company has been actively working for years to "raise the bar on safety" and that Snapchat is intentionally designed to foster communication among close friends and family within a "positive, trusted environment, with privacy and safety built in from the start." The spokesperson also confirmed that Snapchat has been "fully cooperating" with the Commission and will continue to do so throughout the investigation, aiming to meet the DSA's high safety standards in "good faith."

Key Areas Under Scrutiny

The European Commission's investigation will delve into five primary areas:

• Age Assurances: Examining the effectiveness of Snapchat's methods for ensuring users are of a certain age, particularly concerning minors accessing the platform.
• Grooming and Criminal Recruitment: Investigating how the platform might facilitate or fail to prevent adults from grooming and recruiting minors for criminal purposes.
• Inadequate Default Account Settings: Assessing whether the default privacy and safety settings on Snapchat accounts adequately protect minors.
• Dissemination of Information on Banned Products: Looking into whether the platform allows for the spread of information related to the sale of illegal products, such as drugs, vapes, and alcohol.
• Reporting of Illegal Content: Evaluating the accessibility and user-friendliness of the mechanisms in place for reporting illegal content and the company's procedures for handling such reports.

One significant concern is the potential for users to acquire illegal products, including drugs, vapes, and alcohol, through Snapchat. The Commission suspects that insufficient content moderation may be allowing videos that detail how and where to obtain these items to proliferate on the platform. This aspect of the investigation will incorporate findings from a similar probe conducted by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) last September, which focused on the sale of vape products on Snapchat.

Furthermore, the Commission has raised concerns about the reporting mechanisms for illegal content. They suspect that these tools are not "easy to access nor user-friendly," and that Snapchat may not adequately inform its users about how to submit internal complaints.

The investigation also aims to identify instances where Snapchat might employ "dark patterns." These are deceptive design techniques intended to trick users into making choices they might not otherwise intend to make.

A core element of the investigation revolves around Snapchat's age verification process. Currently, the company relies on users to self-disclose their age, requiring them to be over 13 to create an account. The Commission deems this self-declaration method "insufficient" for effectively preventing children from accessing the platform.

Snapchat does offer "teen" accounts for users aged 13 to 17, which come with enhanced protective measures. These include default "private" account settings, meaning that only individuals on a teen's friend list can initiate contact. Location sharing on "Snap Map" also requires explicit opt-in from teenagers, and this sharing is restricted to their friends.

However, the Commission's argument is that the platform's reliance on self-reported age means that age-appropriate safety features are not being activated when they are most needed. The default account settings, the Commission argues, do not provide "sufficient privacy, safety and security protections for minors." Additionally, there are concerns that users may not receive adequate guidance on privacy and safety features during the account creation process, nor are they sufficiently informed about how to adjust these settings to enhance their protection. The Commission's scrutiny underscores the critical need for robust safety measures on platforms widely used by young people.