EU Probes Snapchat Over Alleged Child Safety Failures

Is the EU protecting kids from Snapchat or building a surveillance state under the guise of child safety?

Published 7 days ago

EU Probes Snapchat Over Alleged Child Safety Failures

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Above: Snapchat is displayed on a phone on top of the EU flag in Brussels on March 12. Image credit: Markus Lenhardt/Picture Alliance/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Simply put, Snapchat is failing kids. 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.

European Commission The Wall Street Journal

Establishment-critical narrative

The EU is hiding where regulatory machinery is actually headed. Its investigations and legislation are aimed at forcing client-side scanning of encrypted messages. The EU's own legal service calls it 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.

IWF

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