The European Commission says Meta must make changes to the design of Facebook and Instagram after the EU concluded that certain features are “addictive” and may pose risks to users’ physical and mental health, including minors. In its communication, the Commission argues that Meta has not adequately assessed those risks under EU rules governing online platforms. The Commission’s demand focuses on altering how key features are set up by default. Reported examples include turning off or disabling functions such as autoplay and infinite scroll unless users actively choose to enable them. The EU also frames the issue as a potential breach of social media laws, requiring the company to implement “design changes” rather than continuing with the current user experience. Multiple outlets report that the Commission is pursuing compliance through formal regulatory action and that Meta is expected to respond with steps to adjust its platforms’ design settings and related user experiences. The order centers on reducing the likelihood that users—particularly young people—are drawn into prolonged use through default settings.
EU orders Meta to remove “addictive” default design features from Facebook and Instagram
The European Commission says Meta must make changes to the design of Facebook and Instagram after the EU concluded that certain features are “addictive” and may pose risks to users’ physical and menta...
- The European Commission says Meta must implement design changes to Facebook and Instagram.
- The EU alleges certain default features make the platforms “addictive.”
- Reported examples include autoplay and infinite scroll, which the EU says should not be enabled by default.
- The Commission says Meta did not properly assess risks to users’ physical and mental health, including minors.
- The EU frames the actions as a potential breach of EU social media rules and expects compliance.
European Commission said Meta failed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental health of users, including minors
1 month agoMeta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay, infinite scroll so they're not turned on by default, the European Commission has said
1 month agoThe European Union is accusing Meta of breaching social media laws by designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive
1 month ago
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