Meta must change Facebook's and Instagram's "addictive" design or face a heavy fine, the EU has warned. In preliminary findings released on Friday, the European Commission said features such as infinite scroll, autoplaying videos and personalised recommendations encourage "compulsive use" by shifting "the brain into autopilot mode, contributing to unhealthy habits". The regulator is particularly concerned about the impact on children and teens, arguing that Meta failed to adequately assess the risks posed by how the platforms are designed, including how long minors spend on them at night. Features such as Reels and Stories could lead to "excessive or even compulsive use", the Commission said. It also criticised Meta's time-management tools – even those enabled by default for teenagers – saying they "can be easily dismissed and do not lead to a meaningful reduction and control of the usage of the service". Parental controls were deemed insufficient, requiring too much technical knowledge and effort from parents.
"Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms," said Henna Virkkunen, the EU's tech chief, in a statement. The Commission wants Meta to redesign both platforms, including disabling autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introducing effective screen-time breaks, and making recommendation systems less focused on maximising engagement.
“EU warns Meta must change addictive design of Facebook and Instagram or face fines up to 6% of global turnover.”
Meta has the right to mount a defence and can now review the evidence and submit its formal response. A spokesperson for the tech giant said: "We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens. Since this investigation began, we rolled out 'Teen Accounts' that 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 investigation, launched in May 2024, also continues to assess other charges, notably "rabbit hole" effects where algorithms feed young people negative content, and whether Meta failed to prevent children under 13 from using Facebook and Instagram.
If the Commission confirms its ruling, Meta could be fined up to 6% of its total global annual turnover – approximately $12bn. The findings come ahead of recommendations expected on Monday from an expert panel tasked with proposing new ways to shield children from harmful online content, as the EU faces pressure from countries including France, which is pushing for a social media ban for minors following Australia's restrictions for under-16s.