California : The European Union has issued a stern warning to Meta, demanding immediate changes to the design of Facebook and Instagram or risk facing a hefty financial penalty.
The European Commission said features such as autoplay, infinite scrolling and highly personalised content recommendations may encourage users—especially teenagers—to remain on the platforms for extended periods, increasing the risk of excessive social media use.
According to EU regulators, Meta has not done enough to evaluate or reduce the potential harm associated with these features and must strengthen its safeguards for users.
The Commission has called on the company to disable certain engagement-driven features by default, introduce more effective prompts encouraging users to take breaks and adjust its algorithms to reduce excessive user engagement.
Meta has dismissed the claims, insisting that it has already introduced a range of safety measures for younger users. The company pointed to its teen account settings, which include screen-time management tools and restrictions on overnight usage.
The EU warned that failure to implement the required changes could expose Meta to a fine of up to six percent of its annual global revenue.
