The EU is going after TikTok and Meta over addictive algorithms and child safety failures

[Alfonso Maruccia]

The big picture: Ursula von der Leyen recently confirmed that the European Union will take a more active role in addressing social media addiction driven by algorithmic design. The German politician, currently serving as President of the European Commission, outlined the new plans during a recent European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children held in Denmark.

Von der Leyen stated that the EC – one of the European Union's highest governing bodies – is taking action against TikTok and Meta's social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. The video-sharing platform and Meta's services are said to rely on engagement-driven features such as endless scrolling, auto-play, and push notifications, which can encourage excessive use.

Brussels is particularly concerned about the impact of these features on younger users, with von der Leyen accusing Meta of failing to enforce adequate age-verification measures.

These platforms are being investigated because they "allow children to go down 'rabbit holes' of harmful content - such as videos that promote eating disorders or self-harm," the EC president stated.

Furthermore, von der Leyen promoted the age-verification app that the European Union has been developing. The tool is said to offer world-class privacy standards and will soon be integrated into digital wallet platforms used by EU member states. This would add yet another eIDAS-based identity service to the growing ecosystem of government digital apps.

In any case, von der Leyen noted that Big Tech and other major online platforms will soon have fewer excuses to avoid proper age verification for younger users. The technology already exists, and the European Commission could have a new legal draft ready by the summer. Findings from the Special Panel of Experts on Child Safety Online will also be taken into consideration.

Brussels' new regulatory push is likely to further strain relations between Europe and the United States. The European Union is increasingly imposing restrictions on US-based tech companies, requiring major platforms and cloud providers to comply with local rules governing the handling of European users' sensitive data.

The European Commission has been targeting social media algorithms for some time, accusing platforms such as TikTok and Meta of failing to comply with the law. Age verification measures and social media restrictions for minors are becoming more common globally, although their effectiveness remains debated. Even in the US, where TikTok's new ownership has turned the app into a powerful location-tracking platform, Meta is expected to face a potentially significant ruling after losing a lawsuit in New Mexico.

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The EU is going after TikTok and Meta over addictive algorithms and child safety failures

 

[Squid Surprise]

Say goodbye to any privacy you thought you had… wonderful to use the children as the excuse…

 

[demonicmaniac]

Say goodbye to any privacy you thought you had… wonderful to use the children as the excuse…

The EU age verification app works EU wide and is open source and is zero knowledge based trust. You can do age verification properly and anonymously. The "government" doesn't also see what asks for the age. It's a shame techspot doesn't actually cover the app that has been worked on as open source and based on the Taler zero knowledge proof design.

 

[Squid Surprise]

The EU age verification app works EU wide and is open source and is zero knowledge based trust. You can do age verification properly and anonymously. The "government" doesn't also see what asks for the age. It's a shame techspot doesn't actually cover the app that has been worked on as open source and based on the Taler zero knowledge proof design.

Open-source doesn’t mean secure… ask Linux devs about that…

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

They're failing to comply with the law by not using the "privacy-ensuring" age verification tool that doesn't actually exist yet? It doesn't even have a name.

Here's the website for the April 2026 implementation, let's look at it closer: https://ageverification.dev/Setup/

This white-label application is a reference implementation of the Age Verification solution that should be customised before publishing it. The current version is not feature complete and will require further integration work before production deployment. In particular, any national-specific enrolment procedures must be implemented by the respective Member States or publishing parties. Please note that this application is still under active development. It is regularly updated and new features and improvements are continuously being added.

FYI: 2 weeks after it was published, the European commission started complaining its national member states didn't adopt it yet and told them to hurry up: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa....member-states-rollout-eu-age-verification-app

They also said that only a few pilot states and companies will be implementing it in 2026, so it sounds like the plan is to ensure Meta and TikTok implements it in the next 7 months: https://ageverification.dev/#pilot-member-states

The EU Age Verification Solution is being piloted by a group of front-runner Member States that plan to integrate the app into their national EUDI Wallets: France, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and Ireland. Additional Member States and private-sector relying parties are expected to join during 2026.

An EU-wide coordination mechanism, announced on 15 April 2026, will support the accreditation of national solutions and the cross-border issuance and acceptance of proof-of-age attestations, so that the Union converges on one interoperable solution rather than twenty-seven divergent ones.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

The EU age verification app works EU wide and is open source and is zero knowledge based trust. You can do age verification properly and anonymously. The "government" doesn't also see what asks for the age. It's a shame techspot doesn't actually cover the app that has been worked on as open source and based on the Taler zero knowledge proof design.

Where can I download it onto my phone? I don't see it on the app store.

 

[Puiu]

They're failing to comply with the law by not using the "privacy-ensuring" age verification tool that doesn't actually exist yet? It doesn't even have a name.

Here's the website for the April 2026 implementation, let's look at it closer: https://ageverification.dev/Setup/


FYI: 2 weeks after it was published, the European commission started complaining its national member states didn't adopt it yet and told them to hurry up: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa....member-states-rollout-eu-age-verification-app

They also said that only a few pilot states and companies will be implementing it in 2026, so it sounds like the plan is to ensure Meta and TikTok implements it in the next 7 months: https://ageverification.dev/#pilot-member-states

BS. these large companies had access to this since 2025. what you see now is the publicly available tool/API. the problem is the lack of initiative from them to implement it. it should take them a few weeks to implement such a simple API and maybe another few weeks of just testing.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Good

 

[NumberNine]

Alternative solution: Everyone stop using social media and start talking to the people you care about again.

 

[Win7user]

All, so-called social media, should be banned in the United States.

 

[ArmorJr]

Finally...damn they are slow to start doing the right things

 

[Endymio]

BS. these large companies had access to this since 2025. what you see now is the publicly available tool/API. the problem is the lack of initiative from them to implement it. it should take them a few weeks to implement

Why spread disinformation?

"As of April 2026, the European Commission has finalized a privacy-preserving age verification app, with deployment planned across EU countries by the end of 2026...."

Commission urges fast rollout of age verification app

The Commission has adopted a recommendation urging EU countries to accelerate the rollout of the EU age verification app, making it available by the end of 2026.

commission.europa.eu

The app did NOT exist during the period for which the EU is investigating these companies. Nor are any EU based companies using it either -- yet the EU isn't investigating them.

 

[Puiu]

Why spread disinformation?

"As of April 2026, the European Commission has finalized a privacy-preserving age verification app, with deployment planned across EU countries by the end of 2026...."

Commission urges fast rollout of age verification app

The Commission has adopted a recommendation urging EU countries to accelerate the rollout of the EU age verification app, making it available by the end of 2026.

commission.europa.eu

The app did NOT exist during the period for which the EU is investigating these companies. Nor are any EU based companies using it either -- yet the EU isn't investigating them.

You seem to be very confused about this topic and I remember you being confidently wrong about it on several occasions.

What you have in 2026 is the finalized system. Work in progress has been available since July 2025 with a major update being made in October 2025.

You have the timeline here: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa....ification-solution-help-protect-minors-online

And in case you are too lazy, as per usual, to do real research on what you say:


Why are YOU spreading disinformation like how trump isn't a rapist and pedophile, or how hitler was a leftist, while attacking everything and anything from the EU? trump is obviously too cheap to pay you, so you must be doing free work for fascist king trump.

 

[Endymio]

And in case you are too lazy, as per usual, to do real research on what you say:
View attachment 90860

Your own link disproves you. It clearly says the app is available as of April 2026. Actually, it says it will be "technically" ready, and then "soon available" to citizens.

The "pilot program" was not available to end-use consumers and could not be used by platforms for actual age verification. Stop spreading disinformation. You're only embarassing yourself

Why are YOU spreading disinformation like how trump isn't a rapist and pedophile

We bow to your superior knowledge of rape and pedophilia.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Why are YOU spreading disinformation like how trump isn't a rapist and pedophile, or how hitler was a leftist, while attacking everything and anything from the EU? trump is obviously too cheap to pay you, so you must be doing free work for fascist king trump.

Do we actually have conclusive proof that Trump is a rapist and/or pedophile? I’m no Trump supporter, but I suspect if that was proven to be true, he’d have been impeached and jailed…

As for Hitler being a “leftist”… well, not sure what that’s about - the National Socialist Party did pretend to be left wing (hence “Socialist”) until showing their fascist colours pretty quickly (which was still widely supported by the German populace).

Not sure how either of them have to do with this thread though…

 

[Endymio]

the National Socialist Party did pretend to be left wing (hence “Socialist”) until showing their fascist colours

They weren't pretending. They began as a far Left labor movement -- as did Italy's "fasci", the first fascists. However, like Mao, Stalin, and all other authoritarian Leftist governments, once they gain total power and eliminate their opposition, they lose interest in all political goals and are interested in no more than retaining power.

I'll also note that the initial rise of National Socialism was openly cheered by Leftist groups in the US and Europe ... it wasn't until their atrocities were revealed that they began to write history, casting the party as "right wing", despite it sharing literally nothing in common with conservative ideology.

 

[Squid Surprise]

They weren't pretending. They began as a far Left labor movement -- as did Italy's "fasci", the first fascists. However, like Mao, Stalin, and all other authoritarian Leftist governments, once they gain total power and eliminate their opposition, they lose interest in all political goals and are interested in no more than retaining power.

I'll also note that the initial rise of National Socialism was openly cheered by Leftist groups in the US and Europe ... it wasn't until their atrocities were revealed that they began to write history, casting the party as "right wing", despite it sharing literally nothing in common with conservative ideology.

While you are technically correct about the Nazi party, I’d argue that Hitler himself was never left wing - he simply used those tenets to attract support. The proof is that once in power, his actual allies were the conservative industrial elite - and he had his party’s left wing leader, Gregor Strasser, murdered… his manifesto, Mein Kampf clearly stated his hatred of Communism and his plan to eradicate it…

 

[Endymio]

While you are technically correct about the Nazi party, I’d argue that Hitler himself was never left wing - he simply used those tenets to attract support. The proof is that once in power, his actual allies were the conservative industrial elite - and he had his party’s left wing leader, Gregor Strasser, murdered… his manifesto, Mein Kampf clearly stated his hatred of Communism and his plan to eradicate it…

Germany's industrial elite conservatives were terrorized by Hitler -- such as Prof. Junkers who refused to do Hitler's bidding in 1934 ... his airplane factories were seized, his patents taken, and he was arrested and died in prison. Such was the case with all other CEOs of key industries ... either you worked for the Nazis, or they replaced you with a loyalist.

Hitler's gravamen in Mein Kamp was with the "Jewish Bolshevism" of Karl Marx (who was Jewish). One has to only read the Nazi's infamous 25-point plan, with goals like "land reform" (seizing and redistributing large land tracts), "abolition of rent slavery", bans on the "unearned wealth" of invested capital, free college education, "communalization of the great warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms", a huge expansion of the federal welfare state, and many other trappings of the modern-day Left.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Germany's industrial elite conservatives were terrorized by Hitler -- such as Prof. Junkers who refused to do Hitler's bidding in 1934 ... his airplane factories were seized, his patents taken, and he was arrested and died in prison. Such was the case with all other CEOs of key industries ... either you worked for the Nazis, or they replaced you with a loyalist.

The ones who didn't support him were... but most DID support him. Many out of fear, but many because they saw Hitler as the answer to the rise of socialism and communism - which threatened their profits.

Hitler's gravamen in Mein Kamp was with the "Jewish Bolshevism" of Karl Marx (who was Jewish). One has to only read the Nazi's infamous 25-point plan, with goals like "land reform" (seizing and redistributing large land tracts), "abolition of rent slavery", bans on the "unearned wealth" of invested capital, free college education, "communalization of the great warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms", a huge expansion of the federal welfare state, and many other trappings of the modern-day Left.

Yes, he hated Jews as well - something that is mirrored in many nations today (looking at you Iran), and he seemed to view communism as a "Jewish conspiracy" simply because Marx was Jewish... Again, I'm not arguing that the Nazi party had left wing tenets - I'm arguing that Hitler wasn't left wing.

 

[AnilD]

TikTok and Instagram have slowly become the digital equivalent of cigarettes... everyone knows they're harmful, the companies know they're harmful, and yet here we are debating age verification in 2026 while kids have had smartphones since age 8 for the better part of a decade.

 

[Puiu]

Do we actually have conclusive proof that Trump is a rapist and/or pedophile? I’m no Trump supporter, but I suspect if that was proven to be true, he’d have been impeached and jailed…

As for Hitler being a “leftist”… well, not sure what that’s about - the National Socialist Party did pretend to be left wing (hence “Socialist”) until showing their fascist colours pretty quickly (which was still widely supported by the German populace).

Not sure how either of them have to do with this thread though…

You actually do.

He was found liable in court for rape (ignoring the tens of women who accused him of doing it and him bragging of sexually harassing women) and even if you don't believe the epstein files and trump's involvement, he admitted to going into the changing room at his pageants and watching teens change naked. Endymio thinks this is what normal adult men do.

As for the Hitler jab, it was something Endymio fervently tried to push onto me and I destroyed him with counter-arguments, all documented facts. he still loves to use this as obvious disinformation against everybody who says trump is a facist. I don't know were he "learned" that nazis were leftists, but he's simply trying to prove that fire is water using childish arguments.

 

[Puiu]

Your own link disproves you. It clearly says the app is available as of April 2026. Actually, it says it will be "technically" ready, and then "soon available" to citizens.

The "pilot program" was not available to end-use consumers and could not be used by platforms for actual age verification. Stop spreading disinformation. You're only embarassing yourself


We bow to your superior knowledge of rape and pedophilia.

You have an official timeline on when companies had access to builds of the app, and yet here you are again, still confidently wrong about everything.

read again what you wrote: "end-use consumers" - who are they? hint: it's not Meta, or Tiktok.

You love to embarrass yourself every single time dude. I don't know why, but I'm guessing it's because you need to distract from the fact that trump is a fascist pedophile.

Also, please tell us more about how the whole world is wrong about hitler and the nazis. It's amazing to see somebody get everything wrong, like you do. Continue trying to rewrite history like trump is trying to do back in your backyard.

 

[Endymio]

You have an official timeline on when companies had access to builds of the app, and yet here you are again, still confidently wrong about everything.

Again: stop spreading disinformation, or learn to read your own sources. The app was ***not online** until April 2026, and it's not even widely available until the end of this year. No company in the world -- including no European platform -- was using it last year, for the simple reason it did not exist. The "pilot program" was just that ... a TEST PROGRAM, not available to consumers.

It's right there in the source you posted: "as of April 2026, the app is technically ready, and will be available to citizens soon."

Do you understand what "soon" means? Or "as of April 2026"?

I'm guessing it's because you need to distract from the fact that trump is a fascist pedophile.

You're certainly very interested in pedophilia; you mention it literally every post.

Also, please tell us more about how the whole world is wrong about hitler and the nazis

Not the whole world. Just the Left-wing disinformation specialists. Political parties are judged by their goals and ideology, and Germany's National Socialists espoused, advocated for, and implemented Left-wing policies. This is simple, incontrovertible fact. I'm sorry this triggers you.

 

[Endymio]

He was found liable in court for rape

Except Trump wasn't. He was found liable for defamation of character -- for calling E. Jean Carroll a liar. This is the woman who claimed -- though she can't remember the day, the month, nor even the YEAR this supposedly happened (that would allow records of Trump's movements to disprove it all, you see) -- but she clearly remembers "inviting Trump into a department store dressing room to try on lingerie together", where, she claims, he raped her, despite the open panels on these rooms and the armed security guard immediately outside. And she kept quiet about it all for 30 years, until she was a famous liberal author and Trump was President.

Yeah. Not even you believe this nonsense. You merely hope someone else will.

 

[Squid Surprise]

You actually do.

He was found liable in court for rape (ignoring the tens of women who accused him of doing it and him bragging of sexually harassing women) and even if you don't believe the epstein files and trump's involvement, he admitted to going into the changing room at his pageants and watching teens change naked. Endymio thinks this is what normal adult men do.

No he wasn’t… and he wasn’t convicted of being a pedophile either…he was found liable - in a civil case - of sexual abuse. Which is very different.

He is probably a scumbag but… it’s not quite as bad as what you are alleging here…

As for the Hitler jab, it was something Endymio fervently tried to push onto me and I destroyed him with counter-arguments, all documented facts. he still loves to use this as obvious disinformation against everybody who says trump is a facist. I don't know were he "learned" that nazis were leftists, but he's simply trying to prove that fire is water using childish arguments.

Well, the Nazi party was left wing - my argument is that Hitler wasn’t left wing. That’s a fact… the name National “Socialist” Party kind of gives it away….