The European Commission investigates Snapchat for problems with exposure of minors, sexual harassment and illegal products

The European Commission has opened an investigation to determine whether Snapchat guarantees a high level of safety, privacy and protection for children, citing problems with exposure of minors and attempts at grooming and sexual harassment for criminal purposes.

This investigation has been carried out within the framework of compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates large platforms such as Snapchat to guarantee a safe online environment, mandating transparency and fighting against illegal content.

In this sense, the Commission has detailed that it will analyze compliance with child protection rules, starting with the age of use of Snapchat. Specifically, the terms of the social network indicate that users must be at least 13 years old to use the platform, however, the agency suspects that it does not prevent minors of that age from accessing the service.

Likewise, it has indicated that they will evaluate whether Snapchat adequately identifies users under 17 years of age, to guarantee an experience appropriate to their age, as well as if the tool to report the presence of minors under 13 years of age is available, as clarified in a statement on its official blog.

RECRUITMENT OF MINORS FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

Another point where the investigation will focus is on whether Snapchat adequately protects minors from being contacted by users with harmful intentions, such as sexual exploitation or recruitment for criminal activities.

As the Commission has explained, they suspect that the platform allows adults to misuse its services, by posing as minors by lying about their real age when registering or modifying it later.

“Snapchat may not be implementing sufficient safety measures to protect children from exposure to harmful content, contact, behavior and other risks,” the agency ruled.

Following this line, they have alleged that the social network does not offer sufficient privacy and security protections for minors, for example, through the ‘Find Friends’ function, which automatically recommends accounts of children and adolescents to other unknown users.

In addition, they have added that, when creating an account, users are not adequately informed about the privacy and security functions of the platform. They are also not explained how to adjust account settings.

DISSEMINATION OF SALE OF PROHIBITED PRODUCTS

The agency is also investigating whether Snapchat allows minors to easily access information about the purchase of illegal products, such as drugs or other harmful age-restricted options, such as electronic cigarettes or alcohol.

In this regard, it must be taken into account that the DSA dictates that online platforms must mitigate the systemic risks derived from their service, which includes having content moderation tools to prevent the dissemination of information that directs users to the sale of illegal products.

“The platform does not appear to effectively prevent users, including children and adolescents, from accessing said content,” the Commission ruled, while indicating that it is suspicious of the mechanisms currently in force to notify illegal content, which “are neither easily accessible nor intuitive.”

With all this, the European Commission has assured that it will carry out an “exhaustive investigation”, collecting evidence and sending requests for information to Snapchat, along with interviews and inspections.

Additionally, it may take additional enforcement measures, such as injunctions and a non-compliance decision, in addition to accepting commitments from Snapchat to remedy the issues raised in the proceeding.

“From sexual harassment and exposure to illegal products to setting up accounts that compromise the safety of minors, Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act requires high security standards for all users. With this investigation, we will carefully analyze its compliance with our legislation,” said Executive Vice President of Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.

For its part, a Snapchat spokesperson detailed in statements to Engadget that the platform is designed for people to communicate with close friends and family “in a positive and trusting environment, with privacy and security built in from the beginning, including additional protections for teenagers.” “As online risks evolve, we continually review, reinforce and invest in these security measures,” he concluded.