Overview
- Multiple news reports on June 23 say the European Commission is preparing preliminary findings that Facebook and Instagram use autoplay, notification loops, infinite scroll and recommendation algorithms to keep children engaged.
- Preliminary findings are a formal step under the Digital Services Act that give Meta a chance to reply and propose remedies before any final sanctions are issued.
- The EU has already charged Meta in April for failing to stop under‑13s accessing its services and is drawing on recent U.S. jury rulings that found platform design contributed to youth harm.
- If the Commission finds breaches it can impose fines up to 6% of global turnover and require product changes, which could force costly engineering work and lower engagement that drives advertising revenue.
- An EU expert panel is due to issue recommendations next month and its guidance could shape binding measures such as stronger age checks or limits on specific engagement features that affect children’s daily online use.