The European Commission has released its preliminary findings accusing Meta of using design features that may encourage addictive use of Facebook and Instagram, while also failing to provide adequate protection for children, the Commission said in a statement.<\/p>\n
According to the European Commission, Meta relies on personalized recommendations, autoplay videos, and infinite scrolling features that may encourage compulsive use of its social media platforms.<\/p>\n
The regulator concluded that Meta failed to conduct a proper assessment of the risks these features may pose to users’ physical and mental health, particularly to minors and other vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n
The Commission stated that recommendation algorithms, autoplay functionality, and the continuous loading of new content can encourage users to remain engaged for longer periods and develop unhealthy usage habits.<\/p>\n
The regulator also argued that Meta did not adequately take into account available evidence showing prolonged nighttime use of Instagram and Facebook by children, as well as the potential impact of Reels and Stories on excessive platform usage.<\/p>\n
The EU further criticized Meta’s existing screen time management tools. According to the Commission, time-limit features\u2014including those enabled by default for teenagers\u2014can be easily bypassed and do not provide effective safeguards.<\/p>\n
In addition, the European Commission said Meta’s parental control tools are insufficiently effective because they require parents to possess technical knowledge and invest considerable time and effort.<\/p>\n
At this stage of the investigation, the Commission believes Meta should redesign certain features of Instagram and Facebook. Potential measures include disabling engagement-driven features by default, introducing more effective break reminders, and modifying recommendation algorithms so they are less focused on maximizing user engagement.<\/p>\n
The preliminary findings do not constitute a final decision. Meta has the right to review the investigation’s findings and submit its response to the European Commission.<\/p>\n
If the preliminary conclusions are ultimately confirmed, the EU could impose a fine of up to 6% of Meta’s total worldwide annual turnover.<\/p>\n
The investigation into Meta was launched on May 16, 2024, as part of the European Commission’s assessment of the company’s compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission is also conducting a separate investigation into Meta’s user age verification practices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":151913,"menu_order":0,"template":"","newscat":[9],"newstag":[],"issues":[],"class_list":["post-151912","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","newscat-novosti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/151912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"newscat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newscat?post=151912"},{"taxonomy":"newstag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newstag?post=151912"},{"taxonomy":"issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ldaily.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues?post=151912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}