The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Meta's design choices for Facebook and Instagram violate the Digital Services Act, citing "addictive design" that negatively impacts user wellbeing, particularly for minors. The investigation, launched in May 2024, focused on features like infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and personalized recommendation systems, which the commission argues Meta failed to adequately assess for their potential to fuel compulsive use.

Meta disputes these findings, pointing to measures like "Teen Accounts" offering parental controls and daily screen time limits. However, the commission asserts these current mitigation efforts are insufficient, easily bypassed, and do not lead to meaningful reductions in app usage. They also noted that parental controls require significant technical expertise or dedicated time to be effective.

The commission suggests major design overhauls, including disabling autoplay and infinite scroll by default, implementing screen time breaks, and redeveloping algorithms to reduce an overemphasis on engagement. If confirmed, Meta could face fines up to 6 percent of its annual turnover.