EU tells Instagram, Facebook to change addictive features or risk fines
The Commission said Instagram and Facebook features can drive compulsive use and that Meta may face a fine capped at 6% of global annual turnover.
- On Friday, the European Commission preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act, citing Facebook and Instagram features that regulators say shift users into "autopilot mode" and fuel compulsive use.
- Investigators launched the probe in May 2024, finding that Meta disregarded data on nighttime teenage usage and failed to adequately assess risks posed by infinite scroll, autoplay, and recommendation algorithms.
- The Commission determined that existing time management tools are easily ignored, while parental controls require significant technical expertise to be effective. It demands Meta disable autoplay and infinite scroll by default.
- If confirmed, Meta faces a fine capped at 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover, potentially exceeding $12 billion based on 2025 revenue; the company can examine investigation files and respond before a final decision.
- Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated the Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable, following fines against Elon Musk's X and Chinese e-commerce giant Temu.
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If you do not meet the requirements, Meta can be fined up to 6% of your overall billing
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Facebook and Instagram can make children and young people addicted - the European Commission comes to this assessment and demands better protection from the parent company Meta. However, the US company is not under time pressure.
Brussels blames the Mark Zuckerberg Group for not limiting the risks that users face.
Instagram and Facebook are “addictive,” and therefore the parent company of these social networks, Meta, is acting in violation of EU law. This is the provisional…
Facebook and Instagram ordered to dismantle design features EU calls addictive for users
The Europe Union accused Meta on Friday of breaching its social media law by designing Facebook and Instagram to get users hooked, and demanded it disable “key addictive features” like infinite scrolling.
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