EU Finds Instagram and Facebook Design Addictive in Preliminary Ruling
The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Meta's design of Instagram and Facebook violates the Digital Services Act by fostering addiction and harming users' well-being, especially minors.
The European Commission has issued a preliminary finding that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, breached the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the addictive design of its platforms. The investigation focused on features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommendation systems.
The Commission stated that Meta failed to properly assess the risks these design elements pose to users' physical and mental health, particularly for minors and vulnerable adults. For instance, Meta did not consider how much time minors spend on the platforms at night or how formats like Reels and Stories encourage excessive and compulsive use.
Current risk mitigation measures are deemed insufficient. Time management tools can be easily disabled, and parental controls require significant technical knowledge to be effective. Awareness initiatives, such as links to mental health resources, do not adequately reduce addiction risks.
The Commission suggests that Meta should disable addictive features by default, implement effective user breaks, and redesign recommendation systems to be less engagement-driven.
Meta now has the opportunity to review the case documents and respond in writing. If the preliminary conclusions are confirmed, the company could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover.
Earlier in April, the Commission had already accused Meta of failing to protect young children from harmful social media effects.
