EU orders Meta to make apps less ‘addictive’
Yahoo Finance ·
EU orders Meta to make apps less ‘addictive’ James Titcomb Fri, 10 July 2026 at 9:52 am GMT-4 2 min read META Brussels has ordered Meta to make Instagram and Facebook less addictive, threatening the company with huge fines if it continues to offer features such as "infinite scrolling". The European Commission said features on the apps meant people exhibited compulsive behaviour and ended up using them in "autopilot mode". Companies can be fined up to 6pc of their global turnover – as much as $12bn (£9bn) in Meta's case – for serious infringements of the EU's Digital Services Act. It said Meta should disable addictive features such as video autoplay and the infinite scroll of the apps' feeds. It also said it should introduce screen time breaks for users and overhaul its algorithm to make content less addictive. Social media companies are required to provide risk assessments to Brussels about the dangers of their apps, and the EU said Meta had failed to take into account data about compulsive use. "These features fuel the user's urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into 'autopilot mode', contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use," it said. Brussels also said that the company's screen time limits and parental controls, which are designed to limit how much children can use the apps, were easily circumvented. It pointed to features such as Reels, the company's short-form video format, as well as Stories, short updates shared by users. "At this stage of the investigation, the commission considers that Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook," it said. "For instance, by disabling key addictive features such as 'autoplay' and 'infinite scroll' by default, implementing effective 'screen time breaks', and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented." The EU, like Britain, is considering introducing a social media ban for under-16s, following the example of Australia. The commission said its findings were a preliminary decision after launching an investigation two years ago. The final decision can trigger a fine. Meta is able to examine the commission's findings and legally challenge them . The company said: "We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens. "Since this investigation began, we rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and put parents in control – allowing them to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at just 15 minutes. "We share the European Commission's commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences, and will continue to engage constructively with them."
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