FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM: EU OPENS PROCEEDINGS ON CHILDREN’S SOCIAL ADDICTION​

Article taken from Il Sole 24 Ore

The European Commission has opened a formal procedure to assess whether Meta, the holding company of Facebook and Instagram , may have violated the rules of the Digital Services Act (DSA) on the protection of minors. Brussels fears that Facebook and Instagram’s systems, including their algorithms, may stimulate behavioral addictions in children, in addition to creating so-called “bunny effects.”

The Commission is also concerned about the insurance and age verification methods implemented by Meta. As social media platforms are designed to maximize user attention, algorithms are used to stimulate behavioral addictions and/or create the so-called “rabbit hole effect,” where users may be attracted to more extreme videos.

The EU decision is based on a preliminary analysis of the risk assessment report sent by Meta in September 2023, Meta’s responses to the Commission’s formal requests for information (on the protection of minors and on the risk assessment methodology), publicly available reports and the Commission’s analysis.

The Commission is also concerned about the insurance and age verification methods implemented by Meta. Current procedures cover several areas. In the meantime, Meta’s compliance with EU obligations to assess and mitigate risks arising from the design of Facebook and Instagram’s online interfaces, which could exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and lead to addictive behaviors and/or reinforce the “rabbit hole” effect, is being verified.

This assessment is necessary to counteract potential risks to the exercise of the fundamental right to physical and mental well-being of minors and respect for their rights. Then, Meta’s compliance with EU requirements regarding mitigation measures to prevent minors’ access to inappropriate content, in particular the age verification tools used, which may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective. And also compliance with obligations to put in place adequate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection of minors, in particular with regard to default privacy settings for minors as part of the design and operation of their recommender systems.

If found, such breaches would constitute violations of Articles 28, 34 and 35 of the DSA. Brussels reports that it will now conduct an in-depth investigation as a priority and will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending further requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.

The initiation of formal proceedings gives the Commission the power to take additional enforcement measures, such as the adoption of interim measures and infringement decisions. In addition, the Commission may accept undertakings given by Meta to settle the issues raised in the proceeding.

Facebook and Instagram were designated very large online platforms in April 2023, as both have more than 45 million monthly active users in the. Last month, Brussels had already initiated formal proceedings against Meta, in relation to both Facebook and Instagram, for misleading advertising, political content, notice and action mechanisms, access to data by researchers, as well as the lack of availability of an effective real-time third-party service for the analysis of civic discourse and an election monitoring tool ahead of the European Parliament elections.

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager indicates that she fears “that Facebook and Instagram may stimulate addictive behavior and that the age verification methods Meta has implemented in its services are not adequate.” For Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, the procedure against Meta is necessary “because we are not convinced that it has done enough to meet its obligations to mitigate the risks of negative effects on the physical and mental health of young Europeans on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.”

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This article was initially published in Il Sole 24 Ore, with whose permission we reproduce it here. At this link you can read the original version in Italian.