The EU says Facebook and Instagram are designed to keep you hooked
Meta could be fined up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover if it fails to make appropriate changes.
Instagram and Meta logos.
- The European Commission preliminarily found Meta breached EU rules over Facebook and Instagram’s addictive design.
- Regulators said infinite scroll, autoplay, notifications, and personalized recommendations encourage compulsive use and unhealthy habits.
- Meta disputes the findings, saying Teen Accounts and parental tools already help protect young users.
- Meta could face fines up to 6% of global annual turnover if it fails to make required changes.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Meta was preliminarily found to be in breach of the Digital Services Act over the "addictive design" of Facebook and Instagram, the European Commission said on Friday
The European Commission’s preliminary findings from a two-year investigation say that some of Meta’s features, like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalised recommender systems, encourage scrolling “and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode'”.
According to the Commission, this contributes to “unhealthy habits and compulsive use”.
The Commission also said Meta failed to adequately consider evidence that features like Reels and Stories encourage excessive use.
Social media companies are increasingly scrutinised by tech regulators globally over concerns that their platforms contribute to mental health issues in children.
The regulator pointed to evidence that Meta did not meaningfully address the risks, arguing that its current mitigation measures are not effective.
It gave the example of Instagram's and Facebook's time management tools, which “can be easily dismissed and do not lead to a meaningful reduction and control of the usage of the service.”
The Commission also argued that Meta’s parental controls are only effective if parents possess adequate technical skills and spend time to understand them, which undermines their efficiency.
Meta needs to implement design changes, such as disabling what the Commission considers “key addictive features” like 'autoplay' and ‘infinite scroll' by default, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks', and adapting its recommender system.
If Meta fails to make appropriate changes, it could be fined up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover.
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The findings, however, do not yet constitute a final decision. The tech giant can “exercise its right to defence”, meaning it can review the evidence and reply to the Commission in writing.
Meta spokesperson Ben Walters told Reuters that the company disagreed with the findings, "which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens".
"Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control - allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Walters said.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told the publication that, based on the Commission’s findings, Meta’s design is too addictive, and said: "The next step is either that Meta changes its design or a non compliance decision will follow."
The EU is ramping up its efforts to protect teens against the potential negative effects of social media, especially as Australia has implemented the world’s first social media ban for under-16s.
Many European countries are moving in a similar direction. For example, France has approved a ban for children under 15, while Spain, Slovenia, Austria, Greece, and several other countries are considering similar restrictions.
