Meta must overhaul the design of Facebook and Instagram or face fines of up to 6% of its global annual turnover, the European Commission has warned in a blistering charge sheet that accuses the tech giant of failing to protect children from “compulsive use”.
In preliminary findings released on Friday, the commission said features such as infinite scroll, autoplaying videos and personalised recommendations “shift the brain into autopilot mode, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use”. The accusation – a breach of the Digital Services Act – focuses on the impact on younger users, with regulators arguing that Meta had disregarded available information about how long children spend on Instagram and Facebook at night, and that its time-management tools, including those enabled by default for teenagers, can be dismissed and do not meaningfully reduce usage.
“EU warns Meta to change Facebook and Instagram's 'addictive' design or face fines of up to 6% of global turnover.”
“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” the EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The commission also criticised Meta’s parental controls, saying they are only effective if parents have the time and technical expertise to understand and use them properly. The findings come as the EU considers a social media ban for minors, with countries including France pushing for restrictions similar to Australia’s under-16s ban.
Meta immediately rejected the allegations. “We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens,” a spokesperson said. The company pointed to its Teen Accounts, which “automatically protect teens and put parents in control – allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes”. The tech giant can now review the evidence against it and submit a formal response.
The charges are part of a wider EU investigation into Meta launched in May 2024, which also examines “rabbit hole” effects where algorithms feed young people negative content, and whether Meta has broken EU law by failing to prevent children under 13 from using its platforms. If the ruling is confirmed, Meta could be fined up to 6% of its total global annual turnover.
The findings were released days before a long-awaited report from an expert panel tasked with proposing new ways to shield children from harmful online content – a sign of mounting pressure on Brussels to act on tech regulation.