Meta: EU threatens fines over 'addictive' Facebook and Instagram features

Finally, someone noticed that social networks are a bit like potato chips: you can't have just one. The European Union has pointed fingers at Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for features that, according to regulators, encourage compulsive use. Meta received a formal request for information from the European Commission on May 16, 2024.

It's not the first time social media addiction has been discussed, but now the EU is serious. They want to understand how Meta manages risks related to young people's mental health. If the answers aren't satisfactory, Mark Zuckerberg's company could face significant fines. We're talking substantial figures, not pocket change.

The features under scrutiny are those that keep us glued to the screen for hours, often without realizing it. The classic infinite scroll, for example: there's never an end, content just keeps regenerating. Then there are the persistent notifications, those that buzz every two minutes to tell you that someone liked someone else's cat photo.

These mechanisms, according to the EU, contribute to unhealthy habits and excessive use. The European Commission highlighted how these characteristics can lead to 'compulsive use' and 'behavioral addiction.' Sound familiar? Maybe that's why we sometimes find ourselves watching reels of people dancing for half an hour for no apparent reason.

Meta has 14 days to respond to the EU's questions. If they fail to do so, or if the answers aren't convincing, the company risks financial penalties. Fines can reach up to 1% of annual global revenue, which for Meta means billions of euros. Quite a deterrent, wouldn't you say?

For us users, this could mean some changes. Perhaps fewer obsessive notifications, or an 'end of page' prompt to remind us to take a break. It's hard to say if we'll see a revolution, but a small brake on addiction engineering wouldn't hurt. After all, we don't complain if our coffee has a limit, do we?