Dutch probe Snapchat over alleged failure to tackle vape sellers

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch consumer rights watchdog ACM said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation into social media platform Snapchat, over possible failures to protect minors from illegal sellers of vapes.

The ACM said it had indications that Snapchat was not doing enough to prevent its platform from being used to sell vapes to people under 18.

That would be in breach of the European Union's Digital Services Act, which requires a platform like Snapchat to offer adequate protection to minor users.

"A safe online environment is very important for minors. Platforms need to take measures to prevent illegal products being sold through them," the ACM said.

"We see enough indications of possible DSA breaches by Snapchat to open an investigation."

Snapchat owner Snap Inc said it would respond to the inquiry, noting that it took the issues that were raised very seriously.

"We have invested immense resources to stop bad actors from abusing our platform and to educate Snapchatters. We constantly work to improve our proactive detection technology," a Snap spokesperson said in a statement.

"We do not permit advertisers to promote vapes, and we attempt to block search results for illicit content. Unfortunately, there is no single safety feature or policy that can eliminate every threat online or in the world around us."

The consumer watchdog said it was working in close collaboration with the European Commission. It would not comment further on the investigation and did not give a timeline for it.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Alex Richardson and Richard Chang)

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