EU Orders Meta to Change Facebook, Instagram’s ‘Addictive’ Design or Face Heavy Fine

The European Union has warned Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to redesign features on its platforms that regulators say encourage excessive and potentially harmful use, particularly among children and vulnerable adults.

The European Commission said on Friday that Meta may face a significant financial penalty if it fails to address concerns over the “addictive design” of its social media platforms.

Brussels identified features including endless scrolling, highly personalised content feeds and automatic video playback as elements that could encourage prolonged engagement and negatively affect users’ wellbeing.

EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said protecting the physical and mental health of users, especially young people, must remain a priority for online platforms.

“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen said.

The warning followed a preliminary assessment by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which found that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram designs failed to adequately reduce risks associated with excessive platform use.

The Commission said possible changes could include disabling features such as autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introducing stronger screen-time reminders, and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce their focus on maximising user engagement.

“If the regulator’s views are confirmed, the EU can impose a fine of up to six per cent of Meta’s total worldwide annual turnover,” the Commission said.

Meta, however, rejected the findings, saying the EU assessment did not fully reflect measures already introduced to protect teenagers online.

The company said its Teen Accounts feature allows parents to restrict Instagram access at night and limit daily usage time, adding that it would continue engaging with European regulators.

The latest action is part of a wider European effort to increase oversight of major technology companies and strengthen online protections, particularly for children.

The EU previously issued similar warnings to other social media platforms, including TikTok, over concerns about user safety and addictive design features.

The Commission said Meta’s existing time-management tools could easily be ignored by users, while parental controls often require a level of technical knowledge that some parents may not have.

It also raised concerns about how features such as Reels and Stories may contribute to excessive or compulsive usage among young users.

The EU investigation into Meta began in 2024 under the Digital Services Act, a major regulatory framework designed to hold large online platforms accountable for risks linked to their services.

The Commission is also examining concerns around so-called “rabbit hole” effects, where algorithms repeatedly recommend similar content that may gradually expose users to increasingly extreme material.

Meta has faced similar scrutiny in the United States, where a court recently ruled that some social media platforms contributed to harmful addictive behaviours among users.

AFP