EU Says Meta Broke Digital Rules Over Instagram and Facebook Features. It Could Face Penalties
Meta has been found in preliminary breach of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) after regulators concluded that several design features on Instagram and Facebook encourage excessive use and fail to adequately protect children and vulnerable users.
The findings add to mounting regulatory pressure on major technology companies as governments continue tightening oversight of online platforms amid broader concerns about digital safety and the spread of harmful content during global crises.
The European Commission said Friday that Meta did not sufficiently assess or mitigate the risks associated with platform features including infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommendation systems, which regulators said can keep users engaged for prolonged periods and place them into what it described as an “autopilot mode.” The Commission said the company failed to fully consider how those features affect users’ physical well-being, particularly minors and vulnerable adults, CNBC reported.
According to the Commission, Meta also overlooked available information showing how long young users spend on Instagram and Facebook during nighttime hours and how content formats such as Reels and Stories may contribute to excessive platform use. Regulators said the company had not taken sufficient steps to reduce those risks and called for design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scroll by default and introducing mandatory screen-time breaks, according to the European Commission’s official announcement.
The preliminary findings leave Meta facing potential penalties under the DSA. Companies found to have violated the law can be fined up to 6% of their total worldwide annual turnover, one of the strongest enforcement mechanisms introduced under the European Union’s digital rulebook.
Meta rejected the Commission’s conclusions.
“We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens,” a Meta spokesperson said.
The company said it has introduced Teen Accounts, which automatically apply additional protections for younger users. Those safeguards include parental supervision tools, restrictions on nighttime access, and daily screen-time limits of 15 minutes unless parents approve extended use. Meta added that it shares the Commission’s goal of providing safer online experiences for teenagers and will continue engaging with regulators.
The decision marks the second time this year that the European Commission has concluded Meta breached its digital obligations. In April, regulators issued separate preliminary findings saying the company failed to adequately prevent children under 13 from accessing Facebook and Instagram, raising further concerns about compliance with the Digital Services Act, Reuters reported.
The latest action comes as scrutiny of Meta’s social media platforms has intensified on both sides of the Atlantic. In March, two high-profile U.S. court rulings added to that pressure. One concluded that the design of Meta’s platforms contributed to social media addiction and mental health harms among young users, while another found the company had misled users regarding the safety of children on its services, The Verge reported.
Meta disputed those rulings as well, maintaining that Instagram and Facebook are intended only for users aged 13 and older and that it has systems designed to identify and remove accounts belonging to younger children.
The Digital Services Act, which began applying to the largest online platforms in 2024, requires companies to identify and reduce systemic risks associated with their services, including harms affecting children, public health, and fundamental rights. The law has become one of the European Union’s primary tools for regulating major technology firms and has already led to investigations involving several large online platforms, according to the European Commission.
