• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

As Europe contemplates a potential social media ban for children and teens, the European Commission found in a preliminary investigation that Meta's Instagram and Facebook apps violate the Digital Services Act due to addictive design features, including infinite scrolling, autoplaying, notifications and personalized recommendation algorithms.

“Meta did not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults,” the Commission reports, adding that the features mentioned above shift users’ brains into “autopilot mode,” which has the potential to promote “unhealthy habits and compulsive use.”

The European Commission -- the region's executive arm -- also found that Meta knowingly “disregarded” information about the possible negative effects of Reels and Stories on users.

Despite Meta's recent attempts at introducing scam detection, parent-linked accounts, time-management tools, content restrictions, AI chatbot rollbacks, and other harm-prevention actions -- especially targeting teen users -- the Commission found that the tech giant's mitigation measures have “failed to effectively tackle the risks stemming from its addictive design.”

Time management features targeting teens on Instagram and Facebook, for example, can be “easily dismissed,” the Commission argues, while adding that the company’s parental controls “are only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise” and put in the time to enforce them.

The Commission does not consider Meta's suggested mental-health resources effective in offsetting potential negative impacts resulting from the company's social apps'= allegedly addictive designs.

As the Commission moves forward with its investigation, the group predicts that it will demand design changes to Instagram and Facebook in order to comply with the Digital Services Act.

“For instance, by disabling key addictive features such as ‘autoplay’ and ‘infinite scroll’ by default, implementing effective ‘screen time breaks’, and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented.”

If the current ruling is confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover.

The Commission's preliminary findings come as the EU contemplates new restrictions on social media apps for the region’s children and teen users, with the potential of a full age-based ban.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the Commission, said in a press conference Monday that the executive arm will return with focused proposals “after the summer.”