European Commission opens investigation into Snapchat’s child safety protections

The icon for instant messaging app Snapchat is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb
28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa
- 
Copyright 
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Published on 26/03/2026 - 12:00 GMT+1•Updated
12:12
The European Commission suspects that adults masquerade as young users on Snapchat and recruit them for illegal activities or to exploit them sexually.

The European Commission has launched an investigation to determine whether Snapchat exposed minors to grooming and criminal recruitment, potentially breaching EU digital safety laws.

Approximately 94.5 million Europeans had a Snapchat account in 2025, according to the company’s latest transparency report.

The Commission said on Thursday that it suspects the platform might allow adults to masquerade as young users, who then contact children to recruit them for illegal activities or to exploit them sexually.

“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," said Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy.

"With this investigation, we will closely look into their compliance with our legislation," she added.

TikTok’s 'addictive' design breaches EU law, European Commission says
The investigation will fall under the Digital Services Act (DSA), following a review of the platform’s risk assessments from 2023 to 2025 and additional information it received last October about age verification and illegal activity
The Commission’s announcement marks the start of formal proceedings, which could lead to “further enforcement” at a later stage
Snapchat may also propose changes to its policies and practices in response to the investigation.

A Snapchat spokesperson told Euronews Next that the "safety and wellbeing of all Snapchatters is a top priority," and that the company has worked for years to "raise the bar on safety"
"Snapchat is designed to help people communicate with close friends and family in a positive, trusted environment, with privacy and safety built in from the start," the statement read
The company said it has "fully cooperated" with the Commission to work "in good faith to meet the DSA's high safety standards," and that it will continue to do so during this investigation
What else will the investigation examine?

The Commission will focus on five areas: age assurances, grooming and recruitment of minors for criminal activities, inadequate default account settings, dissemination of information on the sale of banned products, and reporting of illegal content
This includes whether Snapchat users can buy illegal products, such as drugs, vapes and alcohol, through the platform due to insufficient content moderation that fails to limit videos with information on how and where to obtain them.

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) mounted a similar investigation into the sale of vape products on Snapchat last September
The Commission said this probe will be incorporated into its broader investigation.

If a user spots illegal content on the platform, the Commission said it suspects that the reporting mechanisms in place “are neither easy to access nor user-friendly,” and that the company does not inform its users on how to file internal complaints.

Would a taxpayer-funded European social media platform work?

It also noted that users may not be given guidance on privacy and safety features when creating an account, nor are they informed how to adjust these settings
This story was updated with reaction from Snapchat
Meta and YouTube made addictive products that harmed youth, jury finds
'An attempt to cripple Anthropic': US judge questions Anthropic ban
OpenAI to close Sora app over backlash over deepfakes and AI slop