Too little protection for minors: The EU Commission sees Meta as violating European digital laws and demands changes to Facebook and Instagram.
According to the preliminary results of an EU investigation, Instagram and Facebook pose a major addiction risk for children and young people. The European Commission sees risks, among other things, from strongly personalized recommendations as well as the automatic playback of ever-new videos and is pushing ahead with proceedings against the parent company Meta.
The US company must now react to this. If he cannot refute the accusations or does not make any changes, the EU Commission could impose a multi-billion fine of up to six percent of the annual turnover. At Meta, this could be more than 12 billion euros.
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In the midst of the debate on a minimum age for social media, the Brussels authorities have published new investigation results, which increase the pressure on the online platforms and give the EU arguments for stricter rules.
A case is also underway against TikTok due to the addictiveness of the app – since February there have been similar preliminary investigation results. An expert commission set up by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will give its recommendations on Monday on how to proceed with the social media ban.
Why the EU Commission fears the danger of addiction
In the case of Instagram and Facebook, the EU Commission criticizes, for example, the function of automatic playback and endless scrolling. Endless scrolling means that new content is constantly loaded when swiping on a platform, without the user being forced to pause.
In addition, the EU Commission criticizes how content is selected using a personalized algorithm. Notifications that keep users coming back to the platforms are also monitored.
What Instagram and Facebook have to change according to Brussels
The attempts of the Meta Group under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg to minimize the risk of addiction for minors, but also for vulnerable adults, are not considered sufficient by the EU Commission. Time management tools for children, such as daily limits or break times, can be easily switched off according to the Brussels authorities. Other child protection functions of Instagram and Facebook are therefore only effective if parents have sufficient technical knowledge and make the effort to really understand them.
According to the Brussels authorities, Instagram and Facebook must now change the way their platforms work. For example, the EU Commission suggests:
- Default deactivation of endless scrolling and automatic video playback
- Introduction of effective screen breaks
- Adjustment of the recommendations to make them less user interaction oriented
Zuckerberg Group under pressure on child protection
Another EU procedure is running in parallel against Meta. The Brussels internet watchdogs also require Instagram and Facebook to enforce the minimum age of 13 years specified in the terms of use – otherwise the parent company faces a penalty here as well.
Recently, Meta announced that it will expand its use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to more strictly control the age of children and adolescents on Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
Investigations also important for debates on the social media ban
Both EU procedures are also important for the recommendations of the experts appointed by Ursula von der Leyen, as the scientists should also take into account the evidence found in the course of the investigations.
Several member countries, including France, Spain, Greece and Austria, want to legislate a social media ban for minors up to a certain age. Federal Family Minister Karin Prien also announced that she wants to introduce such a ban in Germany.
However, this should be more difficult to implement without the backing of Brussels, as the example of France shows. The EU Commission objected to the French legislative proposal for a social media ban for children and adolescents under the age of 15, because it was not compatible with EU rules. Since the Brussels authorities have a prerogative in parts of digital policy and only they are allowed to make regulations for the big platforms, France must now change the text.
Meta could get a penalty
There is no deadline for the Meta Group to respond to the EU’s accusations. Critics repeatedly accuse the European Commission of not enforcing the EU rules for digital platforms consistently enough, of taking too long for the proceedings against the online giants and of imposing too few penalties. The proceedings against Meta due to lack of youth protection have been going on for over two years.
In the USA, the Facebook group together with the Google video platform YouTube already lost a much-noticed court case because of the addictive potential of its offers. Jurors in Los Angeles awarded the 20-year-old plaintiff an amount of three million dollars as compensation, 70 percent of which should be paid by Meta.
Source: Tageblatt
