EU Commission preliminarily finds Meta's Instagram, Facebook violate Digital Services Act

The European Commission issued a preliminary finding on Friday stating that Meta's use of addictive design features on Instagram and Facebook violates the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA).

Investigation Background

The EU's executive body has been investigating child safety concerns on Meta's platforms since May 2024. On Friday, it delivered its initial findings, alleging that the US tech giant failed to apply robust safeguards to protect users' mental and physical well-being, including teenagers.

Key Findings

The Commission specifically called out Meta's use of addictive features, including:

• Highly personalised content recommender systems
• Infinite scroll
• Autoplay
• Push notifications

These features, the Commission found, could lead to users racking up excessive screen time. Meta's engagement-focused design choices encourage users to keep scrolling, creating an unhealthy environment by shifting "the brain into autopilot mode," the Commission said.

Insufficient Safeguards

The investigation also examined several digital tools developed by Meta — ostensibly to curb addiction risks — including:

• Time management tools
• Parental controls
• Screen time awareness pages

The Commission found these tools did not put convincing limits on the addictive features baked into Meta's platforms.

Teen Accounts Under Scrutiny

Additionally, the Commission assessed Meta's teen accounts, which began rolling out in the EU in 2024. A senior Commission official told journalists that these accounts did not meet the DSA's thresholds to adequately protect teens either.

The same official noted that default settings on the accounts "can be easily dismissed," adding that Meta's parental control measures are also ineffective, as users must be an "expert" to even find or activate them.

Required Changes and Potential Penalties

The Commission is now asking Meta to make design changes to Instagram and Facebook, including:

• Disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling features by default
• Changing content recommender systems to make them "less engagement-oriented"

Meta still has an opportunity to respond to and refute the Commission's preliminary findings. However, if the bloc's suspicions are ultimately confirmed, the tech giant could face fines of up to 6% of its global turnover and be forced to make its platforms less "sticky."

Meta's Response

A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with the investigation's findings, including those regarding teen accounts, but added that it would continue to engage with the Commission on child safety.

Broader Context

Today's development follows a series of DSA probes conducted by the Commission this year targeting child safety concerns. In another finding on Meta in April, the EU's executive said the company was failing to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram.

In February, the Commission also found the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok to be unlawfully addictive, saying it should change the basic design of its services to comply with the DSA.

UPDATE: Updated with Meta's response

(nl, cm)