The European Union has warned Meta to redesign key features of Facebook and Instagram that it considers addictive or risk facing substantial financial penalties under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
In preliminary findings released on Friday, the European Commission said the social media platforms expose users—particularly children and vulnerable adults—to unnecessary risks through features designed to maximise engagement.
Among the features highlighted by the Commission are infinite scrolling, highly personalised content feeds and automatic video playback, which it said encourage excessive and compulsive use of the platforms.
European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the wellbeing of users must remain a top priority.
“Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms,” she said.
The Commission stated that Meta should introduce significant design changes to both Facebook and Instagram, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, implementing effective screen-time reminders and modifying recommendation algorithms to make them less engagement-driven.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are upheld, Meta could face fines of up to six percent of its global annual revenue for violating the Digital Services Act.
Responding to the findings, Meta said it disagrees with the Commission’s conclusions but would continue to cooperate with European regulators.
The company argued that the assessment does not fully reflect measures it has already introduced to improve online safety for teenagers.
Meta pointed to its Teen Accounts feature, which allows parents to restrict late-night access to Instagram and set daily screen-time limits for younger users.
The investigation began in 2024 as part of the European Union’s broader effort to strengthen online safety and increase accountability among major technology companies.
According to the Commission, Facebook’s and Instagram’s existing time-management tools can easily be dismissed by users, while parental controls require a level of technical knowledge that limits their effectiveness.
Regulators also raised concerns that Meta failed to adequately consider how children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the optimisation of features such as Reels and Stories could encourage excessive engagement.
The current investigation also continues to examine the platforms’ recommendation systems and the potential “rabbit hole” effect, where algorithms repeatedly promote similar content that may lead users toward increasingly extreme material.
The action against Meta follows similar scrutiny of TikTok earlier this year and reflects the European Union’s ongoing campaign to strengthen child protection and digital safety across online platforms.