Dutch court gives Meta until the end of the year to modify Facebook and Instagram apps

The Amsterdam Court has partially ruled in Meta’s favor and has granted the American tech company an extension of its order until December 31st, 2025.

On October 2nd, the Amsterdam Court ruled that Facebook and Instagram users have too little control over the posts displayed on their timelines and in what order. This is not in accordance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to protect users' fundamental rights online.

The judge established that “a non-persistent choice option for a recommendation system runs counter to the purpose of the DSA, which is to give users genuine autonomy, freedom of choice, and control over how information is presented to them. This constitutes “a significant disruption of the autonomy of Facebook and Instagram users.”

Meta was ordered to make adjustments to its Facebook and Instagram apps within two weeks. The company argued that it was impossible to make these changes in such a short time and asked for an extension until January 31st, 2026.

On Tuesday, the Amsterdam Court ruled that Meta will get more time to modify its apps.

“The company now claims that it’s impossible to make these changes in such a short time, it has become sufficiently plausible that the time savings will be limited, while it is plausible that the potential risks associated with this faster temporary solution are much greater,” the judge ruled.

At the same time, the changes will have to be implemented as soon as possible.

“Partly against this background, in the current state of affairs, Meta Ireland’s interest in more time to implement the ordered adjustments outweighs the interest served by the full enforcement of the contested judgment,” the court added.

Therefore, Meta has until December 31st, 2025, to modify its Facebook and Instagram apps. In doing so, the court takes into account the three months mentioned by Meta to implement the adjustments on all platforms and devices.

The Dutch civil rights movement Bits of Freedom, which filed the lawsuit against Meta, says it’s unfortunate that the pressure is now off Meta to take immediate action.

“However, this does not mean that Meta can sit back and relax once the elections are over. But even aside from the elections, the judge stated that it is important for users to be able to freely choose the feed they follow. Meta is violating an important law, so the urgency of this case remains intact,” Maartje Knaap, spokesperson at Bits of Freedom, said in a statement.

Meta has announced that it will appeal the ruling of the summary proceedings. The appeal will take place on January 26th, 2026.

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