The European Commission has announced preliminary charges against Meta Platforms, accusing its Instagram and Facebook services of breaching EU tech rules by using features that promote prolonged, potentially compulsive use. The action follows a two-year investigation under the European Union’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s regulatory framework that obliges large online platforms to take stronger measures against illegal and harmful content.
According to the Commission’s preliminary findings, Meta did not adequately assess the addictive risks posed by a set of design elements and recommendation mechanisms. Regulators singled out highly personalised recommendations, autoplay and infinite scroll as functions that continuously feed users new content and encourage extended engagement. The Commission specifically pointed to reels and stories on Facebook and Instagram as content formats that can contribute to excessive or compulsive use.
In its critique of Meta’s harm-mitigation measures, the Commission said available time management tools are easily dismissed by users and that parental controls demand considerable time, effort and technical know-how to be effective. As a result, regulators have told Meta it should set autoplay and infinite scroll to off by default, introduce effective, platform-enforced screen-time breaks, and recalibrate its recommendation system so it is less focused on maximizing engagement.
Meta pushed back on the charges. A company spokesperson, Ben Walters, said the preliminary findings do not accurately reflect steps Meta has taken to protect teenagers. Walters noted Meta’s rollout of Teen Accounts, which the company says automatically protect teens and enable parental controls such as blocking Instagram access at night and capping daily screen time at 15 minutes. Meta also said it will continue to engage constructively with EU regulators.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen framed the Commission’s approach bluntly. "Our starting point is that, based on our findings, this design is too addictive and changes need to be made," she told Reuters. She added that the next move will be either that Meta alters its design voluntarily or that the Commission issues a non-compliance decision.
If regulators issue a final non-compliance ruling, Meta faces a potential penalty of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. The company has the opportunity to reply to the charges before the Commission makes its final determination in the coming months.
The preliminary charges come amid broader global scrutiny of social media platforms and concerns that features of such services are contributing to a mental health crisis among children. That scrutiny has led some governments to impose or consider restrictions on underage users. In the United States, Meta recently lost an attempt to dismiss claims by 29 state attorneys general alleging Facebook and Instagram are addictive to children.
The EU’s action mirrors regulatory pressure applied earlier this year to other platforms. Regulators brought similar charges against TikTok in February, requesting comparable changes to its app. The Commission said it is separately probing so-called "rabbit hole" effects tied to Facebook and Instagram recommendation algorithms, where users may be driven into prolonged viewing by algorithmic pushes toward similar content.
Earlier this spring the Commission also told Meta to do more to prevent children under 13 from accessing its social networks or face fines. In addition, the Commission is due to receive expert findings on Monday that regulators say could help lay the groundwork for a Europe-wide restriction on teenage use of social media - a possibility Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to address in her September state of the union speech.
The regulatory pressure places Meta at the center of a series of overlapping investigations and enforcement actions in Europe, with potential implications for product design, user flows and compliance obligations. Meta can contest or respond to the charges during the Commission’s review period prior to any final decision.
Context and next steps
The Commission’s measures are preliminary: Meta has been charged but not yet found in final breach. The company has publicly disagreed with the findings and highlighted product changes aimed at protecting teen users. Regulators have set out specific design changes they want to see, while leaving open the possibility of formal non-compliance sanctions if Meta does not comply.