The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta in breach of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), accusing the company of failing to adequately address the risks posed by the addictive design of Facebook and Instagram in a case that could force changes to some of the platforms' best-known features and lead to hefty financial penalties.
In a statement on Friday, the Commission said that an investigation launched in May 2024 found that Meta did not properly assess or mitigate the impact of features designed to keep users engaged, including infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, push notifications and highly personalised recommendation systems.
According to the Commission, the tools encourage prolonged use of the platforms and can contribute to unhealthy or compulsive behaviour, particularly among children and other vulnerable users.
“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms. The Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable for the addictive design and effects of their services,” said Henna Virkkunen, Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy
Central to the Commission's case is the argument that Meta understood, or should have understood, the risks associated with these design choices but failed to take adequate action.
Meta reportedly overlooked evidence showing that minors spend significant amounts of time on Facebook and Instagram late at night and did not sufficiently consider how products such as Reels and Stories could reinforce excessive use.
The Commission also concluded that the safeguards Meta introduced to address those concerns fall short of what is required under the Digital Services Act.
According to the Commission, screen-time management tools, including those enabled by default for teenagers, can be dismissed too easily to meaningfully reduce time spent on the platforms.
Likewise, parental controls were found to depend heavily on parents having the technical knowledge and time needed to configure them effectively, while links to mental health resources in Meta's Safety Centre were deemed insufficient to counter the risks created by the platforms' design.
Given the findings, the Commission said Meta should implement broader changes to the way Facebook and Instagram operate rather than relying primarily on user-controlled safety features.
Among the measures highlighted were disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, introducing more effective screen-time breaks and modifying recommendation systems so they prioritise factors other than maximising user engagement.
The findings are, however, preliminary and do not amount to a final ruling. Meta now has the opportunity to review the Commission's evidence and submit a formal response before regulators decide whether the company has breached the Digital Services Act.
Should the Commission uphold its preliminary conclusion, it could issue a formal non-compliance decision and impose a fine of up to six per cent of Meta's global annual revenue.
“We are fully committed to enforcing our legislation in Europe,” Virkkunen said.
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