The European Commission formally accused Meta on Friday of violating the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) by designing its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram with features intended to addict users. The EU's executive arm demanded that Meta disable what it called "key addictive features," including infinite scrolling and autoplay of videos, by default.
Preliminary Findings and Required Changes
The commission stated that Meta failed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental health of users, particularly minors. While Meta offers tools and controls to help manage usage, the commission found that these are easily overridden, dismissed, or are technically challenging to use effectively. As a result, Meta must implement design changes such as turning off autoplay videos and infinite scroll by default, rather than having them enabled.
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the commission overseeing tech, emphasized the EU's commitment to enforcing its legislation. "Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms," she said in a written statement.
Meta's Response and Next Steps
Meta now has the opportunity to respond and defend itself before the commission issues a final decision. If the preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. In a prepared statement, Meta said the preliminary findings do not acknowledge the steps the company has already 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," Meta stated. The company added that it shares the commission's commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage constructively.
Details of the Investigation
The commission's investigation, opened in 2024, focused on concerns that Meta was not doing enough to protect children online. The preliminary findings detail how Facebook and Instagram's design features, including personalized recommendations and push notifications, deliver an endless stream of content, putting users' brains on "autopilot" and fueling compulsive use. The commission also criticized screen time controls that parents can impose on their teens' devices, noting they can be "easily dismissed" and do not result in meaningful reduction of use. The controls are further undermined by the technical expertise, time, and effort required for parents to understand and use them.
Earlier this year, the EU said its investigation found that Meta failed to prevent children under 13—the minimum age for Facebook and Instagram—from signing up, and did not adequately identify and remove underage users after they opened accounts. The proposed design changes from the commission also include finding better ways to encourage screen time breaks and modifying the content recommendation system to be less "engagement-oriented."
