European Union tells Meta to change addictive Facebook, Instagram features | Latest Tech News
The European Union’s tech regulator told Meta on Friday to make big adjustments to Facebook and Instagram’s “addictive” features — or face steep fines.
The European Commission called out Mark Zuckerberg’s company for a number of particular features, including “highly personalized recommendations, autoplay and infinite scroll” that allegedly mix to keep customers – including susceptible youngsters – hooked on social media.
Firms can face fines of up to 6% of their annual income if they don’t make adjustments to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping regulatory framework that requires Big Tech corporations to keep requirements for the content and design of their apps.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Thursday. REUTERS
In a extremely uncommon transfer, the European Commission said Meta wants to nix features like infinite scroll and roll out new “screen time breaks” and tweak its suggestion system so it’s “less engagement oriented.”
“The Commission’s investigation indicates that Meta did not adequately assess the risks of its addictive design on the physical and mental wellbeing of users, including minors and vulnerable adults,” the European Commission said in a press release.
“These features fuel the user’s urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode’, contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use,” the company added.
Based on Meta’s fiscal 2025 income, it’s trying at potential effective of about $12 billion – though the EU’s penalties to date in related instances have come in far below that stage.
EU investigators also discovered that Meta “disregarded available information about the time minors spend on Instagram or Facebook at night and how the optimization of its different formats – such as reels and stories – could lead to excessive or compulsive use of the services.”
Meta pushed back on the EU’s findings.
“We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don’t accurately take into account the significant steps we’ve taken to protect teens,” a company spokesperson said in a assertion.
Zuckerberg’s Meta faces a regulatory crackdown in the US and Europe. REUTERS
Meta famous that it has launched a Teen Accounts characteristic meant to defend youngsters from social media habit, including by giving dad and mom the option to block their access to Facebook and Instagram at evening.
Zuckerberg’s company has confronted intense scrutiny in both Europe and the US over its alleged position in fueling social media habit and other types of online hurt.
Earlier this yr, the European Commission ruled that Meta had failed to stop customers under age 13 from accessing its platforms.
The Facebook and Instagram mother or father also faces a wave of more than 2,400 lawsuits in the US over its addictive features.
It suffered back-to-back court losses earlier this yr, one in Los Angeles and another in New Mexico, in what critics hailed as a “Big Tobacco moment” for social media.
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