EC Probes How Snapchat, YouTube, Apple, Google Protect Kids

Snapchat, YouTube, Apple and Google must provide information on their age certification systems and how they prevent items such as vapes from being sold to kids, the European Commission said Friday as it launched investigations under the Digital Services Act.

The EC asked Snapchat to show how it keeps children under the age of 13 from accessing its services and to provide information on what features it has to prevent the sale of illegal goods to children.

Alongside questions about YouTube's age-assurance systems, the EC also said it wants more details on the platform's recommender systems following reports of harmful content being disseminated to minors.

Apple App Store and Google Play were asked to explain how they manage the risk of users, including minors, being able to download harmful apps and how they apply apps' age ratings.

Noting that platforms "have the obligation to ensure minors are safe on their services," Henna Virkkunen, EC vice president for tech sovereignty, said, "We are assessing whether the measures taken so far by the platforms are indeed protecting children."

The Commission is requesting Snapchat to provide information about how it prevents children under 13 years of age from accessing its services, as prohibited by the platform’s own terms of service. In addition, it is requesting Snapchat provide information on features in place to prevent the sale of illegal goods to children, such as drugs.

For YouTube, the Commission is seeking more details on its recommender system, following reports of harmful content disseminated to minors.

For Apple App Store and Google Play, the Commission is seeking information on how they manage the risk of users, including minors, being able to download illegal or otherwise harmful apps, including gambling apps and tools to create non-consensual sexualized content, the so-called nudify apps. The Commission is also seeking to understand how the two app stores apply apps' age ratings.