Instagram and Facebook face EU investigation over addiction and child harm

The European Union has opened a formal investigation into Meta due to concerns that it is not doing enough to safeguard the mental and physical health of children who use its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The catheter announced by the European Commission on Thursday will assess whether Meta violated EU Digital Services Act (DSA) rules, noting that Facebook and Instagram’s interface and algorithms can cause “behavioral addictions in children” and create “rabbit hole effects.” The EU is also concerned that Meta is not doing enough to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content and that its age verification tools may not be “reasonable, proportionate and effective”.

The Commission’s next steps involve collecting additional evidence. There is no formal deadline for the process, but the EU is authorized to take provisional coercive measures against Meta while the investigation is ongoing. If Goal It is considered a violation of DSA rules, you may face fines of up to six percent of the company’s global revenue, with the EU Commissioner Thierry Breton declaring on X that “we are sparing no effort to protect youth”.