EU finds Instagram and Facebook’s addictive designs in breach of digital law 

The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta in breach of the EU Digital Services Act for the “addictive design” of Instagram and Facebook. 

Its investigation focused on features within the popular social media platforms such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalised recommender systems.

It found that Meta didn’t adequately assess the risks of its design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults.

The EC warned that Meta’s features that constantly show new content “fuel the user’s urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode’, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use”.

Moreover, it said the social media giant disregarded available information about the time minors spend on Instagram or Facebook at night and how the optimisation of its different formats – such as reels and stories – could lead to excessive or compulsive use.

The EC also dismissed Meta’s current risk mitigation measures as inadequate. 

For example, Instagram's and Facebook's time management tools, including those activated by default for teens, can easily be dismissed.

Moreover, it found that Meta's parental controls are only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise and devote effort and time to understand them effectively. 

“This undermines the efficiency of such measures in addressing the inherent risks posed by Instagram and Facebook's addictive design,” the EC said. 

It added that Meta's awareness-raising measures, such as tips and links to mental health resources available via a separate ‘safety centre' page, don’t seem to sufficiently mitigate the risk of addictive design.

At this stage, the EC said Meta must implement design changes across Instagram and Facebook, such as the default disabling of autoplay and infinite scroll, the implementation of effective ‘screen time breaks', and the adaptation of its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented.

Meta can now exercise its right to defence and reply in writing to the EC’s preliminary findings, while the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted.

If the EC’s views are ultimately confirmed, it may issue a non-compliance decision, which can trigger a fine capped at 6 per cent of Meta’s total worldwide annual turnover.