Meta faces tougher EU probe over addictive design after new findings

The European Commission is set to intensify a probe into Meta Platforms over social media’s addictive design that are extremely harmful to children.

According to sources privy to the matter and reported by Bloomberg, the escalated investigation into Meta will focus on whether designs are addictive and target children, setting a precedent for stricter global regulations on tech companies’ practices involving minors.

The announcement comes as the EU is preparing “preliminary findings” regarding disturbing Meta’s Facebook and Instagram’s design practices. These design features are designed in such a way that keep the users hooked and glued to the screens.

The new findings will be soon announced by the EU, but regulators have not yet decided the date of announcement.

According to the report, the commission is weighing the implementation of restrictions similar to those adopted by the UK and other nations, pending recommendations from an expert panel due next month.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has been under fire over the growing impacts of Meta platforms on teens’ online safety and wellbeing of users.

Both EU and Meta have not yet commented on it and explained the details.

Since 2024, Meta has been under stricter regulatory and legal scrutiny as the commission first opened an investigation into the tech giant under Digital Service Act DSA over the risks to children.

In March, Los Angeles issued a landmark verdict, finding Meta and Google complicit in designing addictive social media platforms harmful to the youth.

In Europe, EU regulators have accused the company of breaching digital safety laws, demanding more effective measures to prevent children under 13 from accessing its social platforms.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Meta has been actively lobbying Congress for legal immunity against claims of child harm, even as it defends itself against thousands of lawsuits filed by young users and their families.