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EU accuses Meta of addictive Facebook and Instagram design
AP News • • business
Key Points:
- The European Commission accused Meta of violating the EU's Digital Services Act by designing Facebook and Instagram with addictive features like infinite scrolling and autoplay videos, which harm users' physical and mental health, especially minors.
- The EU demands Meta disable these key addictive features by default and improve design changes to better protect users, including enhanced screen time breaks and less engagement-driven content recommendations.
- Meta has the opportunity to respond before a final decision, which could impose fines up to 6% of its global annual revenue; the company highlighted recent steps taken to protect teens, such as Teen Accounts with parental controls.
- The EU emphasized that current parental controls are insufficient due to their ease of dismissal and complexity, stressing the need for social media platforms to prioritize the health and safety of European users.
- This investigation is part of ongoing EU efforts since 2024 to hold Meta accountable for inadequate protections against online harms, particularly for children.
