Disable autoplay and infinite scroll or risk massive fines, EU tells Meta - Ars Technica
Skip to content
AI
Biz & IT
Cars
Culture
Gaming
Health
Policy
Science
Security
Space
Tech
Forum
Subscribe
Story text
Size
Small<br>Standard<br>Large
Width
Standard<br>Wide
Links
Standard<br>Orange
* Subscribers only
Learn more
Pin to story
Theme
Search
Sign In
Sign in dialog...
Text<br>settings
Story text
Size
Small<br>Standard<br>Large
Width
Standard<br>Wide
Links
Standard<br>Orange
* Subscribers only
Learn more
Minimize to nav
The European Union is ramping up pressure on Meta to make big changes to Facebook and Instagram after the European Commission preliminarily found that features like autoplay, infinite scroll, and highly personalized content recommendations were addictive.
On Thursday, the EC said its investigation indicated that “Meta did not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults.”
“These features fuel the user’s urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode,’ contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use,” the commission said.
Over the next few months, Meta will have an opportunity to dispute the claims, and it has already taken a defensive stance. Meta’s spokesperson, Ben Walters, told Reuters that Meta disagrees with the commission’s preliminary findings, which supposedly “don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens.”
“Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control—allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes,” Walters said.
However, the EC emphasized that Meta’s current mitigation efforts, including time management tools activated by default for teens, “failed to effectively tackle the risks stemming from its addictive design.” Additionally, parental controls were deemed “only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise” and dedicated “effort and time to understand them effectively.”
“This undermines the efficiency of such measures in addressing the inherent risks posed by Instagram and Facebook’s addictive design,” the EC said, particularly for minors.
At this stage, the EC recommended that Meta consider “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 Meta fails to make changes to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, the company risks fines up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover when the EC makes its final decision in the coming months.
“Our starting point is that, based on our findings, this design is too addictive and changes need to be made,” Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s tech chief, told Reuters.
“The next step is either that Meta changes its design or a non-compliance decision will follow,” she said, noting in the press release that the EU’s priority is “protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans.”
Virkkunen said the EU does not plan to back off the fight if the final decision reiterates the preliminary findings.
“The Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable for the addictive design and effects of their services,” Virkkunen said. “We are fully committed to enforcing our legislation in Europe.”
Fines could hurt Meta’s AI ambitions
For Meta, scrutiny is intensifying as both the EU and the United States probe whether its platforms are addictive, and many governments have already passed or are working to pass social media bans for minors. On Monday, the EC will receive findings from experts that “could help pave the way for a Europe-wide social media ban for teenagers,” the EU Commission’s press release said, threatening to cut Meta off from a huge audience that internal messages showed Meta hoped to engage on its platforms “for life.”
On top of looming fines in the EU, Meta also risks eye-popping penalties if it loses its biggest US fight. Meta recently failed to toss a lawsuit from 29 states that claims its platforms addict kids. That trial begins in August, and states may seek up to $1.4 trillion in penalties if Meta is found guilty, Reuters reported this week.
That figure is likely uncomfortably “close to Meta’s market capitalization of around $1.5 trillion,” Reuters noted. But California Attorney General Rob Bonta seems to agree it’s appropriate, alleging in a statement to Reuters that “Meta has prioritized profits over the safety of kids and fueled the mental health crisis we see impacting a generation of American children.”
As Meta seemingly continues treading water—pointing to screen-time notifications that kids can easily dismiss or default settings that may be changed—the financial pressure to do more to protect kids could threaten its...