TL; DR
The European Commission issued preliminary findings on Friday, accusing Meta of engineering Facebook and Instagram, telling it to turn off autoplay and infinite scrolling by default or face fines of up to 6% of global revenue. The findings come just days before an EU expert panel is due to present its recommendation on the minimum social media age.
The European Commission on Friday released preliminary findings accusing Meta of setting up Facebook and Instagram, giving the company a formal opportunity to respond before Brussels reaches a final ruling that could result in fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. Based on Meta’s estimated turnover of $201 billion in 2025, that cap is about $12 billion.
The Commission’s work is based on architecture, not content. InvestigationUnveiled in May 2024, it found that features such as autoplay, infinite scrolling and highly personalized recommendation feeds “reinforce the user’s desire to keep scrolling and put the brain on ‘autopilot’ mode, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use”.
What Brussels wants has changed
The commission told Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, implement effective screen time breaks, and realign its recommendation algorithm away from purely maximizing engagement. Time management tools already built into apps are too easy to override and “do not significantly reduce or control service usage,” he said.
Meta spokesman Ben Walters disagreed, saying the findings “do not accurately reflect the important steps we take to protect teenagers”. He pointed to Teen Accounts, launched on Instagram in 2024, which “automatically protect teens and put parents in control.”
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A commission official responded that Teen Accounts are easily revoked and don’t provide enough friction to change common usage. Parental controls also require “adequate technical expertise, time and effort,” which the findings said puts too much of a burden on families.
Example of findings
Friday’s action is the Commission’s third preliminary finding against Meta under the DSA. Previous allegations accused the company of failing to keep children under 13 away from its platforms and providing insufficient transparency to outside researchers.
The addictive design theory of responsibility is not new to Brussels. The commission took action against TikTok’s reward-based engagement features 2024 and in February drew similar initial conclusions against TikTok’s overall addictive design, making Meta the second major platform to receive this particular charge.
The minimum age question comes on Monday
The timing is thoughtful: A panel of experts appointed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to issue its recommendations on Monday on whether the EU should set a minimum social media age. Von der Leyen has signaled support for the restrictions, potentially with a further legislative proposal in the fall.
EU child safety legislation has been repeatedly delayed over conflicts between privacy law and content scanning proposals, but political momentum behind age restrictions has grown across the bloc. 23 of the EU’s 27 member states are currently considering or have already adopted legislation to restrict children’s access to social media.
Regulator pressure rises
Addictive design findings come along a separate Commission ruled that Meta’s “pay or agree” advertising model violated the Digital Markets Act. Meta is contesting both sets of findings, and no final decision or penalty has yet been issued in either case.
The preliminary findings give Meta the right to review the evidence gathered and file a formal defense. If the Commission confirms an infringement, it has the power to impose structural remedies and, if these are ignored, to impose periodic penalty payments on top of the basic fine.
