The European Union has accused Meta Platforms of breaching its social media legislation by designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive, demanding the company disable features it identifies as key to compulsive use. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, issued preliminary charges against Meta on Friday as part of its ongoing investigation under the Digital Services Act, a stringent set of regulations aimed at holding tech platforms accountable.
The commission stated that Meta has failed to adequately assess the risks posed by its design elements to the physical and mental well-being of users, particularly minors. While Meta offers tools for managing usage, the EU found these controls to be easily overridden, difficult to implement, or technically complex for parents to navigate.
Proposed changes include disabling features like autoplaying videos and infinite scrolling by default, and implementing more effective measures to encourage screen time breaks. The commission also suggested modifying content recommendation systems to be less focused on maximizing engagement.
Meta has the opportunity to respond to these preliminary findings before the commission makes a final decision. A violation could result in fines of up to 6% of Meta's global annual revenue.
In response, Meta stated that the preliminary findings do not fully acknowledge the steps the company has already taken to protect young users. The company highlighted its introduction of Teen Accounts, which automatically provide protections and parental controls, allowing for nighttime access blocks and daily screen time limits as short as 15 minutes. Meta expressed its commitment to safe online experiences for teens and its intention to engage constructively with the European Commission.
This investigation, opened in 2024, also previously raised concerns about Meta's efforts to prevent children under 13 from signing up for its services and to identify and remove underage users after account creation. The EU maintains that enforcing accountability for addictive design features is a priority for protecting the mental and physical health of European citizens.