- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
EU probes Facebook, Instagram over child protection
The EU on Thursday opened a formal investigation into Facebook and Instagram on suspicion the platforms owned by Meta are causing addictive behaviour in children.
The probe is under a mammoth law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) that forces the world's largest tech firms to do more to protect European users online and clamp down on illegal content.
It is the second investigation into Meta after an earlier one launched by the European Union last month over fears Facebook and Instagram are failing to counter disinformation.
In Thursday's announcement, the European Commission, the EU's tech regulator, said it suspected the platforms' systems "may stimulate behavioural addictions in children".
Another issue the commission raised is the so-called "rabbit hole" effect -- which occurs when users are fed related content based on an algorithm, in some cases leading to more dangerous content.
"We are not convinced that it has done enough to comply with the DSA obligations to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans," the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said of Meta.
"We are sparing no effort to protect our children," he added.
The commission is also worried that Meta's age-verification tools may not be "proportionate and effective".
The DSA has strict rules to protect children and ensure their privacy and security online, and the EU fears Meta might not be doing enough to tackle these obligations.
The EU stressed in a statement that the "opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge its outcome".
- Raft of probes -
The DSA is one law among many in the EU's powerful armoury to rein in Big Tech.
Facebook and Instagram are among 23 "very large" online platforms that must comply with the DSA or risk fines that could reach as high as six percent of a platform's global turnover, or even a ban for serious and repeated violations.
Other platforms include Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
Brussels has launched a wave of investigations, showing online giants it means business.
In February, the commission began a probe into TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, on suspicion the hugely popular video-sharing app may not be doing enough to address negative impacts on young people.
The EU also forced TikTok to suspend its spinoff Lite app's reward schemes in April after warning its "addictive" nature could risk serious damage to users' mental health.
Other investigations have targeted Chinese online retailer AliExpress and social media platform X, which is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk and used to be called Twitter.
The DSA's remit is wide and also forces digital shopping platform like AliExpress and Amazon to do more to counter the sale of fake and illegal goods online.
T.Batista--PC