EU orders Meta to curb addictive features under Digital Services Act
TL;DR
EU regulators preliminarily found Meta’s autoplay, infinite scroll, and highly personalized content addictive and not adequately assessed for risks to users, especially minors, under the Digital Services Act; they urged Meta to disable these features by default, introduce screen-time breaks, and adjust its recommender system, with fines up to 6% of global turnover if it fails to comply; Meta disputes the findings but says it has teen protections and will defend its approach as the investigation continues.
- Disable autoplay and infinite scroll or risk massive fines, EU tells Meta Ars Technica
- Facebook and Instagram’s ‘addictive design’ may violate European law, EU Commission finds CNN
- EU says ‘addictive’ features on Instagram and Facebook breach its rules Al Jazeera
- Meta Failed to Protect Users From Addictive Apps, EU Says WSJ
- Meta Told to Make Changes to Instagram and Facebook in Europe The New York Times
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