The European Commission has issued a preliminary finding that Meta's Instagram and Facebook are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to their addictive design features, including infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalised recommender systems. The investigation found that Meta failed to adequately assess and mitigate risks to the physical and mental well-being of users, especially minors and vulnerable adults. This is an ongoing enforcement action by the EU under its binding DSA regulation, signaling increasing scrutiny on platform design and AI-driven features impacting user health.
Action required
Meta is required to respond to the Commission's preliminary findings and potentially implement significant design changes to its Instagram and Facebook platforms, along with improved risk assessment and mitigation measures under the Digital Services Act.
Binding status
binding
Governing body
European Commission
Direction
restrictive
Innovation impact
constraining
Enforcement details
Agency
European Commission
Compliance requirements
Prohibited practices
- Addictive design features (infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, highly personalised recommender systems) when risks are not adequately assessed and mitigated, especially impacting minors and vulnerable adults.
AI technologies
Affected industries
Affected roles
Cross-references
Cites laws
Digital Services Act
Linked intelligence briefs
EU Commission Preliminarily Finds Meta's Addictive Design Breaches DSA
The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the "addictive design" of Instagram and Facebook [1]. The investigation focuses on features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommender systems. The Commission indicates Meta did not adequately assess risks to user wellbeing, and its mitigation measures were ineffective [2].
"protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms. The Digital Services Act provides a clear framework to hold platforms accountable for the addictive design and effects of their services. We are fully committed to enforcing our legislation in Europe."
Enriched 2026-07-10
Stay informed
Get daily intelligence briefs on this and related regulatory developments.