The European Commission suggests that the company’s social media platforms, including Instagram, may have addictive effects
The European Commission is investigating the owner of Facebook and Instagram for potentially breaching the Digital Services Act. Concerns include addictive behavior and harm to mental health, particularly among young users. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton stated that Meta’s efforts to comply with DSA obligations to protect young Europeans’ physical and mental health on its platforms are not yet convincing.
The investigation will examine the potential addictive impacts of the platforms, including the “rabbit hole” effects, where algorithms feed young people negative content, such as unrealistic body image standards. It will also assess the effectiveness of Meta’s age verification tools and privacy measures for minors. Breton stated, “We are sparing no effort to protect our children.”
A Meta spokesperson commented, “We aim to provide young people with safe, age-appropriate online experiences and have developed over 50 tools and policies in the past decade to protect them. This is a challenge that the entire industry is tackling, and we are eager to share the details of our efforts with the European Commission.”
Last month, the commission initiated an inquiry into Meta under the DSA regarding its management of political content. Concerns arose regarding insufficient actions to counter Russian disinformation before the EU elections in June.
According to the DSA, platforms must safeguard the privacy and safety of children. Following an initial investigation, EU officials are worried that Facebook and Instagram “may exploit the vulnerabilities and lack of experience of minors and lead to addictive behavior.”
There is also doubt about the effectiveness of the platform’s age verification tools. Users are required to be at least 13 years old to create an account on Facebook or Instagram.
One official remarked that some controls were “so obviously easy to circumvent” that the commission questioned how Meta ever assessed these measures as potentially effective and appropriate.
On Thursday, an EU official stated that the commission aims to utilize the bloc’s European digital identity wallet for age verification. This wallet, currently in the testing phase, is designed to simplify identity verification for people across the 27-country union, whether for opening a bank account, applying to university, or seeking employment.
Additionally, the commission has launched two investigations into TikTok. This action prompted the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform to voluntarily withdraw its TikTok Lite reward-to-watch service in France and Spain last month.
Following the initiation of DSA proceedings against X for alleged hate speech and AliExpress for issues related to advertising transparency and complaint handling, the latest investigation into Meta mirrors the TikTok case. Both investigations focus on the potentially addictive nature of online platforms. Breton has previously likened the TikTok Lite service to being “as toxic and addictive as cigarettes.”
The DSA, which became effective in February for platforms operating in Europe, aimed to hold powerful online platforms, deemed “too big to care,” accountable for online safety.
If the commission deems Meta’s response unsatisfactory, it can impose a fine of up to 6% of its global turnover. Additionally, it has the authority to conduct on-site investigations and interview company executives, with no publicly specified deadline for completing the investigation.
