Snapchat is failing kids — plain and simple. The platform lets children under 13 sign up with a single self-declaration, automatically recommends teens to strangers and keeps push notifications on by default, creating a playground for groomers and drug dealers. The EU's Digital Services Act exists precisely for this moment, and enforcement isn't overreach — it's the bare minimum owed to every child online.
Framing every child-safety push as unambiguous good ignores where the EU's regulatory machinery is actually headed. The proposed CSA Regulation would force client-side scanning of encrypted messages — what the EU's own legal service called general and indiscriminate surveillance — and once that infrastructure exists, mission creep is inevitable. Real child protection means targeted policing and funded enforcement, not suspicionless scans of everyone's private life.
© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0