Meta breaches laws with ‘addictive’ Instagram, Facebook designs, EU says
“Addictive” designs of Instagram and Facebook revealed Meta The EU concluded this in violation of the European Union’s digital laws in a preliminary report on Friday.
The tech giant breached the EU’s Digital Services Act by failing to adequately consider the risks associated with design features that affected the physical health of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults, the European Commission said. in question.
These features include infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommendation systems that constantly show new content; This fuels users’ urge to continue using the platforms and puts them in “autopilot mode.”
The EU Commission also accused Meta of ignoring available information on how much time young people spend on Instagram or Facebook at night and how different content formats, from reels to stories, can lead to overuse of its services.
He adds that Meta hasn’t done enough to mitigate these risks and should change the design of its features, going so far as to disable “autoplay” and “infinite scrolling” by default and enforce “screen time interruptions.”
If the Commission’s findings are confirmed, Meta faces a fine of up to 6% of its total annual turnover.
A spokesperson for Meta said: “We disagree with these preliminary findings, which do not properly take into account the important steps we have taken to protect young people.”
Since the investigation began, Meta has rolled out Teen Accounts that “automatically protect teens and put parents in control” by allowing them to block access at night and limit screen time to 15 minutes per day, the tech giant said.
“We share the European Commission’s commitment to providing young people with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage with them constructively,” he added.
This is the second time this year that the EU Commission has found Meta to have breached its rules; He said in April that the company does not block those under 13 from accessing its platforms.
Meta has faced intense scrutiny this year over how it handles the security of users on its platforms, including two high-profile US court decisions in March. The first found that the platform’s design contributed to addiction and mental health issues in young people, while the other determined that it misled users about the safety of children on the platforms.
Meta told CNBC at the time that he disagreed with the findings: “We are clear that Instagram and Facebook are intended for people 13 and over, and we have measures in place to identify and remove the accounts of anyone under that age.”
