Addictive Design of Instagram and Facebook in Breach of the DSA

The European Commission found that Meta is in breach of the Digital Services Act for the addictive design of Instagram and Facebook. The investigation focused on features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and the platforms' highly personalised recommender systems.

The 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 EC stated that, for example, Meta did not consider certain design features of Instagram and Facebook, such as highly personalised recommendations, autoplay and infinite scroll, which constantly show users new content.

The EC says that these features fuel the user's urge to keep scrolling and shift the brain into ‘autopilot mode', contributing to unhealthy habits and compulsive use. Moreover, Meta disregarded available information about the time minors spend on Instagram or Facebook at night and how the optimisation of its different formats - such as reels and stories - could lead to excessive or compulsive use of the services.

Evidence also shows that Meta's current mitigation measures failed to effectively tackle the risks stemming from its addictive design. For example, Instagram's and Facebook's 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 EC considers that Meta's parental controls are only effective if parents and guardians possess adequate technical expertise, as well as devote effort and time to understand them effectively. This undermines the efficiency of such measures in addressing the inherent risks posed by Instagram and Facebook's addictive design. Awareness-raising measures, such as tips and links to mental health resources available via a separate ‘safety centre' page, do not seem to sufficiently mitigate the risk of addictive design on Facebook and Instagram. At this stage of the investigation, the EC considers that Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook.