European Union regulators told Meta on Friday to make major changes to the design of Instagram and Facebook to make the services less addictive, or risk facing hefty fines.
Regulators in Brussels said the “addictive design” of Meta’s two social media services violated European Union law and that features such as “infinite scrolling” and auto-playing videos need to be removed. The tech giant should also introduce new “screen breaks” and adjust its recommendation algorithm to be “less engagement-oriented,” officials said.
Meta could not immediately be reached for comment. The commission’s findings are preliminary and the company now has time to respond to the allegations before a final ruling is issued. A fine could represent up to 6 percent of Meta’s global revenue, although regulators rarely impose penalties of that magnitude.
The ruling is the latest effort by European regulators to confront social media companies over what are seen as intentionally subversive efforts to hook users. In February, EU authorities accused TikTok of using similar design tricks to keep users coming back again and again.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation bloc, is also weighing rules that could ban children from social media because of the apps’ addictive features, following Australia’s lead.
Europe’s aggressive regulation of the tech industry has drawn criticism from President Trump, who sees it as an attack on American companies.
In Brussels, officials have said they are weighing where to draw the line between a well-designed app that users enjoy and one that is harmfully addictive. The European Union, home to about 450 million people, is one of the world’s largest markets for social media, but authorities there have become increasingly skeptical about the way the companies operate.
On Friday, European regulators concluded that Meta had gone too far. The company was accused of violating a 2022 law, the Digital Services Act, by using design tactics to keep users, especially teenagers, hooked on Instagram and Facebook.
Officials said features like personalized recommendations and infinite scrolling that constantly deliver new content “fuel the user’s need to keep scrolling and put the brain on autopilot mode.”
These characteristics lead to “unhealthy habits and compulsive use,” authorities added.
Regulators said Meta failed to adequately evaluate the risks of its products, including ignoring information about how much time users under 18 spent on Instagram and Facebook at night. At the same time, features like Reels and Stories led to “excessive or compulsive” use of the services, officials said.
Younger users can easily bypass Meta’s existing time management tools and its parental controls are effective only if parents are technically savvy and can devote considerable time to monitoring, regulators said.
“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president of the European Commission who oversees digital policy, said in a statement. “The Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable for the addictive design and effects of their services. We are fully committed to enforcing our legislation in Europe.”
Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting from Brussels.
