(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. is under investigation by the European Union over concerns its algorithms are illegally exploiting the weakness of children to get them addicted to Facebook and Instagram. 

Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, announced the probe under the bloc’s tough new Digital Services Act, after preliminary checks revealed a raft of potential red flags such as the creation of so-called rabbit holes, which suck young users deeper and deeper into often inappropriate material on social media. 

He said EU watchdogs aren’t convinced Meta has done enough “to mitigate the risks of negative effects to the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its platforms.” The EU will also examine Meta’s age verification tools, as well as whether Facebook and Instagram’s levels of privacy, safety and security for young people are sufficient, Breton added in a statement on Thursday.

In response to the EU’s move, Meta said it’s spent a decade developing tools and policies designed to protect children, and that it plans to share details of its work with regulators.  

It’s the second time the Brussels watchdog has targeted Meta under the DSA, which empowers regulators to levy fines of as much as 6% of annual sales, or ban repeat offenders from the EU. 

The opening of a probe doesn’t automatically mean a company has broken the rules, and firms can contest any findings, including at the bloc’s courts. 

Last month, regulators said the Menlo Park, California-based firm may have be failing to cull targeted disinformation, including that peddled by Russia that aims to sow discord on the continent. 

TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd. and Elon Musk’s X are also under scrutiny under the law, which gives regulators unprecedented powers to take action against major tech companies for how they handle content on their platforms.

Read More: Meta Risks EU Fines Over Kremlin Lies on Facebook, Instagram

ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok last month halted the controversial rewards program on its Lite app before EU officials carried out their threat to temporarily ban the feature over fears it could be addictive for children. An earlier investigation into X is examining how the platform handles illegal content and disinformation.  

(Updates with Meta response in fourth paragraph.)

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