EU tells Meta to strip addictive design from Facebook and Instagram or face fines
The European Commission said on July 10 that Facebook and Instagram breach the Digital Services Act by building products around features it considers addictive — infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and engagement-tuned recommendation algorithms. The preliminary findings, following an investigation opened in 2024, conclude that Meta is not doing enough to protect users’ physical and mental wellbeing.
The regulator wants autoplay and infinite scroll turned off by default, effective screen-time breaks, and recommendation systems retuned away from maximising engagement. If the findings are confirmed, Meta could be fined up to 6% of annual global revenue — close to $12 billion — though the case is not final and the company can review the evidence and respond before any penalty is set.
The significance is less the immediate fine than the precedent: Brussels is treating engagement-optimising design itself, not just illegal content, as a regulated risk. That reframes the compliance question for every large platform operating in the bloc, since the same mechanics underpin most social feeds.