Brussels 13 July(UNIPA News)=The European Commission has issued preliminary findings indicating that Meta may be in breach of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the design of Instagram and Facebook, raising concerns that the platforms’ addictive features pose risks to users’ physical and mental wellbeing, particularly children.
In its assessment released on Friday, the Commission said Meta had failed to sufficiently evaluate and mitigate risks associated with design elements such as infinite scrolling and autoplay, which regulators believe can encourage excessive use of social media among minors. The Commission argued that the company’s existing safeguards do not provide meaningful control over screen time.
Brussels has called on Meta to introduce design changes that would reduce compulsive engagement, including disabling infinite scroll and autoplay features and implementing more effective screen-time breaks. According to the Commission, current time management tools, including those designed for teenagers, can be easily bypassed and do not significantly reduce platform usage.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President responsible for technology, said protecting the physical and mental health of European users must remain a priority for social media platforms.
Meta rejected the Commission’s preliminary conclusions, stating that they do not fully reflect the measures the company has already implemented to protect younger users. The company highlighted its Teen Accounts system, which automatically applies enhanced safety settings for teenagers, allows parents to restrict nighttime access, and sets daily screen-time limits that users under the age of 16 cannot modify or dismiss.
The Commission’s findings form part of an ongoing investigation under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires major online platforms to identify, assess, and mitigate systemic risks associated with their services. If the preliminary findings are ultimately confirmed, Meta could face fines of up to 6 percent of its annual global turnover.
The investigation comes as European regulators intensify scrutiny of the impact of social media on children. The Commission has previously raised concerns over Meta’s age-verification measures and separately launched a similar investigation into TikTok over allegedly addictive platform design.
Children’s rights advocates welcomed the Commission’s proposed measures, arguing that social media companies should adopt a broader “safety-by-design” approach to reduce risks to young users and strengthen protections across their platforms.
