Overview
- On July 10, 2026 the European Commission published preliminary findings that Instagram and Facebook likely use design features that create significant addiction risks for children and adolescents and demanded concrete changes such as disabling infinite scroll and autoplay by default, adding mandatory screen‑time pauses, and reducing engagement‑focused recommendations.
- The Commission said its assessment draws on Meta’s own risk reports, internal company data, scientific studies and expert advice and argued that current time‑management and parental tools are too easy to evade.
- Meta rejected the conclusions and pointed to new teen protections such as Teen Accounts while saying it will engage with Brussels to defend its measures.
- If Meta cannot refute the findings or implement acceptable fixes the DSA allows the Commission to levy fines up to 6% of global annual turnover, and the company now has an opportunity to respond with no statutory deadline.
- The move follows a similar preliminary step against TikTok and comes as US multi‑state lawsuits and national age limits increase pressure on platforms while practical enforcement, technical trade‑offs and lobbying will shape what changes are actually adopted.