EU says Meta's Facebook and Instagram addictive design breaches the Digital Services Act

The European Commission said on July 10 that the addictive design of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram preliminarily breaches the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s flagship online-safety law.

In its preliminary findings, the Commission singled out infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalized recommender systems, saying the features can drive compulsive use. A confirmed breach could expose Meta to a fine of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover, which at current revenue would run to roughly $12 billion.

The Commission said Meta did not adequately assess how those features affect the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults. It said Meta ignored evidence on how long minors spend on the platforms at night and did not account for how Reels and Stories can encourage excessive use. In-app tips and a separate safety-centre page do not sufficiently reduce the risk, the Commission said.

To comply, the Commission wants Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scroll by default, add effective screen-time breaks, and retune its recommender system to be less engagement-driven.

The findings are preliminary, not a final ruling. Meta can now examine the Commission’s investigation file and respond in writing before any decision, and the case could still close without a penalty. The Commission is separately investigating so-called rabbit-hole effects from the platforms’ recommendation systems.

A final non-compliance decision would be the first time EU regulators pinned an addictive-design theory to a specific fine, setting a template other platforms would have to weigh.