Meta's addictive design of Instagram and Facebook violates DSA

The European Commission has preliminarily found Meta to be in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. 

Following an investigation into features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalised recommender systems, the Commission revealed that Meta failed to adequately assess the physical and mental well-being risks these engagement-focused features pose to users, including minors and vulnerable adults. Furthermore, Meta allegedly disregarded data regarding minors' nighttime usage and the compulsive potential of formats like reels and stories.

As such, the Commission considers Meta's current risk mitigation tools are ineffective, noting that teenage time-management prompts are easily dismissed and parental controls require too much technical expertise. 

Meta now has the opportunity to examine the findings and present its written defence.

Additional reporting by The Guardian.

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