The European Commission wants Meta to fundamentally redesign Instagram and Facebook, telling the company Friday it must disable infinite scroll, autoplay, and other features the bloc calls "addictive" or face a fine of up to $12 billion. The preliminary findings mark the second time this year the Commission has found Meta in breach of the Digital Services Act. In April, regulators said the company failed to keep children under 13 off its platforms.
Meta's design choices violate the DSA by failing to assess how features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and hyper-personalized recommendation algorithms harm users' physical and mental wellbeing, the Commission said. Those systems push the brain into "autopilot mode" and drive compulsive use, particularly among minors and vulnerable adults. The Commission also accused Meta of ignoring internal data showing how late teenagers stay on Instagram and Facebook at night, and how content formats like Reels and Stories fuel excessive engagement.
Meta's existing safeguards are not working. Time management tools, including those activated by default for teens, "can be easily dismissed and do not lead to a meaningful reduction and control of the usage of the service," the Commission wrote.
Parental controls demand too much technical know-how from parents to be effective. The remedies go beyond fines. Brussels is demanding structural changes: disabling autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introducing real screen-time breaks, and retuning recommendation algorithms to be less engagement-driven.
If the findings are confirmed, Meta faces a fine of up to 6 percent of global annual turnover. Based on 2025 revenue of just under $201 billion, that penalty could top $12 billion, per Euronews. The DSA has already produced fines against X (120 million euros in December) and Temu (200 million euros in May).
"Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms," said Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's executive vice president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
Meta pushed back. A spokesperson said the company "disagree[s] with these preliminary findings, which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens." Meta pointed to Teen Accounts, rolled out since the investigation began in May 2024, which let parents block nighttime access and cap daily screen time at 15 minutes.
The EU action lands as Meta faces escalating legal pressure in the US. Four states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over claims the company designed its platforms to addict young users, with an August trial set in California federal court. A New Mexico jury already hit Meta with a $375 million verdict earlier this year.
