London

TheEurope Union accused Meta on Friday of breaching its social media law by designing Facebook and Instagram to get users hooked, and demanded it disable “key addictive features” like infinite scrolling.

The EU’s executive arm issued a fresh set of charges against Meta Platforms as part of its investigation under the 27-nation bloc’s strict digital rule book known as the Digital Services Act. The sweeping set of regulations from Brussels requires tech platforms to protect internet users under threat of hefty fines.

The European Commission said Meta failed to properly assess the risks its design features pose to the physical and mental health of users, including minors. And while the company has tools and controls to help manage Facebook and Instagram use, it said they were easily overridden, dismissed, or technically challenging to use. Meta “needs to implement design changes” to Instagram and Facebook, such as disabling “key addictive features” like autoplay of videos and infinite scroll so they’re not turned on by default, the commission said in its preliminary findings. Meta now has the chance to respond and defend itself before the commission issues its final decision, which could result in a fine worth up to 6 per cent of the company’s global annual revenue.

Meta said Friday that the preliminary findings do not recognise the steps that the company has already 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,” Meta said in a prepared statement. “We share the European Commission’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage constructively with them.”

Europe is committed to enforcing its legislation that holds platforms accountable for addictive design features, said Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice-president at the commission overseeing tech.

“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” Virkkunen, said in a written statement.

Facebook and Instagram design features, including personalised recommendations and push notifications, serve up an endless stream of content, putting users’ brains on “autopilot” and fuelling compulsive use, the commission said.