The European Commission formally charged Meta Platforms on Friday with violating the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), targeting features on Instagram and Facebook that regulators claim are designed to keep users hooked. The preliminary findings, announced after a two-year investigation, demand changes to autoplay, infinite scroll, and personalized recommendations or risk substantial fines.
Regulatory Scrutiny Under the DSA
The Commission, acting as the EU's tech regulator, determined that Meta failed to adequately assess the addictive risks posed by its platform design. Highly personalized recommendations, autoplay, and infinite scroll continuously feed users new content, encouraging prolonged engagement. The regulator specifically cited Reels and Stories on both platforms as potentially contributing to excessive or compulsive use, particularly among younger users.
Social media companies face growing worldwide scrutiny over concerns that their platforms are exacerbating a mental health crisis among children. Several governments have already imposed or are considering bans for underage users. The DSA requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content, and the Commission's action against Meta follows a similar case against TikTok in February.
Meta's Measures Deemed Insufficient
The Commission criticized Meta's existing mitigation measures, stating that time management tools can be easily dismissed, while parental controls require significant time, effort, and technical knowledge to use effectively. Regulators have demanded that Meta disable features such as autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introduce effective screen-time breaks, and make its recommendation system less focused on driving engagement.
Meta responded by disagreeing with the charges. “We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens,” said Meta spokesperson Ben Walters. “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.” Meta added that it would continue to engage constructively with EU regulators.
Potential Penalties and Next Steps
Meta risks a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover if found in non-compliance. The company can respond to the charges before the Commission issues a final decision in the coming months. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told Reuters, “Our starting point is that, based on our findings, this design is too addictive and changes need to be made. The next step is either that Meta changes its design or a non-compliance decision will follow.”
This EU action mirrors charges brought against TikTok in February, where regulators demanded similar changes. The Commission is also separately investigating so-called rabbit hole effects caused by Facebook and Instagram recommendation systems, where users can be drawn into prolonged viewing of similar content. In another case announced in April, Meta was told to do more to prevent children under 13 from accessing its social networks or risk fines.
Broader Implications
The Commission is due to receive findings from experts on Monday that could help pave the way for a Europe-wide social media ban for teenagers. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to announce such a measure in her September state of the union address. Meta last month failed in its bid to dismiss claims by 29 US state attorneys general that Facebook and Instagram are addictive to children, indicating the global scope of regulatory pressure on the company.
