EU Scrutinizes Google, YouTube, Apple, Snapchat Over Children's Online Safety
By Edith Hancock
The European Union is looking into how well Alphabet's Google and YouTube, Apple and Snapchat protect minors online under the bloc's content-moderation law.
The executive arm of the EU, the European Commission, has asked for information on the companies' age-verification systems and on how they prevent minors from accessing products like drugs and vapes or from seeing harmful material such as content that could encourage eating disorders.
"We will do what it takes to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of children and teens online," Henna Virkkunen, the EU's top tech enforcer, said in a statement Friday.
The watchdog asked Snapchat for information about how it prevents children younger than 13 from accessing its services and on the features it has in place to prevent the sale of illegal goods for children. It is also scrutinizing YouTube's age-assurance system and algorithms after reports of harmful content being disseminated to minors, and asking Apple and Google how they manage the risk of users being able to download harmful apps.
The EU's Digital Services Act requires companies like Google and Apple to do more to prevent minors being exposed to harmful and illegal content online. Companies can receive fines of up to 6% of their annual worldwide turnover for breaching the regulations.
"We have received the request from the commission and will collaborate to provide the necessary information," a Snapchat spokesperson said.
While requests for information are a routine part of the commission's law enforcement, officials can later open formal investigations into companies if they suspect breaches of the DSA.
Google said the company has worked with child-development experts to build age-appropriate experiences across Google, including on YouTube, with robust controls for parents. "We'll continue to engage with the commission on this critical area," it said.
Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 10, 2025 08:42 ET (12:42 GMT)
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