Goodbye to infinite scroll and autoplay: Brussels threatens Facebook and Instagram with an astronomical fine
The European Commission concludes "preliminarily" that Meta contributes to the addictive consumption of social networks
BrusselsNew warning from the European Commission to the big American tech companies. Brussels announced on Friday that it has "preliminarily" concluded that the social networks Instagram and Facebook have an addictive design, which breaches EU digital services legislation. Should Meta – the parent company of both applications – not put an end to the practices that contribute to addiction required by the European Commission, the company faces a multi-billion euro fine, which can reach a maximum of 6% of its annual global turnover.
Specifically, Brussels explains in a statement that Instagram and Facebook are carrying out illegal practices within the European Union, such as the infinite scrolling of content and videos – in English, infinite scroll–, the automatic playback of videos, personalized mobile notifications, and, in general, highly personalized algorithms and recommendation systems. "Meta does not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental well-being of users, including minors and vulnerable adults," states the document issued by the European Commission. For this reason, Brussels demands that Meta put an end to these practices.
The EU executive also denounces that the two social networks cause the user to enter a kind of "autopilot mode", and ends up contributing to European citizens having "unhealthy" habits and making "compulsive use" of these applications. Furthermore, the European Commission assures that Meta "ignores" the information it records about the time minors spend on its applications during the night and how the different formats it offers – the so-called "reels or stories– can lead them to use Instagram and Facebook "excessively" and "compulsively".
The European Commission also points out that the "mitigation measures" implemented by Meta have not effectively curbed the risks arising from its addictive design. Thus, Brussels gives the example that the time management tools on Instagram and Facebook, including those activated by default for adolescents, can be easily disabled and do not lead to a significant reduction and control of service usage.
Furthermore, the European Commission considers that Meta's parental controls are only effective if parents and guardians have adequate technical knowledge, and they must dedicate time and effort to understanding them correctly, which it considers "undermines" the effectiveness of these measures to address "the inherent risks" posed by the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. "Meta's awareness measures, such as tips and links to mental health resources available through a separate page called the 'safety center', do not seem to sufficiently mitigate the risk of addictive design," Brussels adds.
The threat of the fine
Brussels notes that the conclusions of the investigation announced this Friday are not yet definitive, and recalls that Meta now has the possibility to exercise its right to defense and implement the reforms requested by the community authorities. However, should the European Commission confirm the indications and the Silicon Valley technology company does not implement the mentioned measures, Brussels can impose a fine of up to 6% of its annual international turnover. Last year, Mark Zuckerberg's group obtained 200.970 billion dollars in revenue, so the penalty could potentially reach 12 billion dollars.
The European Commission has already applied all kinds of sanctions to social networks, especially American ones. For this reason, President Donald Trump always pressures the European Union to lower or withdraw digital regulation in the community space, something that – at least for the moment – is a red line for European partners. In fact, the latest sanction by the EU executive against the social network X, belonging to the magnate close to the Republican administration Elon Musk, was received at the White House as a direct attack on the United States and caused a new political clash between Washington and Brussels.