Commission slams Meta’s ‘addictive’ design of Facebook and Instagram for breaching EU law

Meta is being investigated by the European Commission for harmful and addictive design features on Instagram and Facebook, with the US tech giant expected to face a fine in the billions of euros.

The commission’s preliminary findings released on Friday (10 July) suggest that features like attention capture and infinite scrolling are in breach of the Digital Services Act 2022, which aims to safeguard EU citizens from internet harms, scams, and illegal content.

The commission’s investigation found Mark Zuckerberg’s tech conglomerate at fault for not properly assessing the risks of addiction attached to such design choices, while also lacking effective mitigation measures.

“There is no effective screen-time measuring tool, no effective awareness raising measures, no effective parental control” commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told press.

Personalised recommendations and autoplay fuel the user’s urge to keep scrolling, leading to compulsive use, sleep deprivation, and heightened mental health risks.

Any tools proposed by the social media network, such as time management settings, require parents to possess adequate technical expertise, and have been widely ineffective. 

Should Meta be unable to contest the findings, and should the preliminary breach hold throughout the commission’s investigation, the social media giant could face a fine capped at six percent of its global annual turnover.

Following the company’s 2025 revenue of €176 bln, the fine could reach €11bn.

The EU has showed its willingness to confront Meta with past fines totalling €200m in April 2025 for non-compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, as well as a €797m strong fine in 2024 over Facebook Marketplace ads malpractice.

Meta reaches 270 million users in the EU, making up for well over half the continent’s population.