The European Commission just announced that it will investigate Meta (Mark Zuckerberg’s company behind Facebook and Instagram). According to the agency, this may be because Meta did not comply with the DSA (Digital Services Act) on the protection of minors. More specifically regarding algorithms, dependency and age verifications.

Commission’s position. As the organization explained in a statement published on its official website, “The Commission is concerned that the systems of both Facebook and Instagram, including their algorithms, may promote behavioral addictions in children, as well as create so-called ‘hollowing effects’.” “.

Nest effects? It is a situation where the user engages in a kind of compulsive usage, loses track of time and consumes similar content as before. This behavior can be improved by algorithms that understand what the user likes and deliver similar content to what has been previously consumed.

The European Commission had already launched an investigation against TikTok a few months ago for this very reason, and now it has its sights set on Facebook and Instagram, which essentially offer a very similar experience. According to Margrethe Vestager:

“Today, we are taking another step to ensure the safety of young Internet users. With the Digital Services Act, we have established rules that can protect minors when they interact online. We are concerned that Facebook and Instagram may encourage behavioral addiction, and we are concerned that the age verification methods Meta has implemented in its services are not sufficient.” “We will now conduct an in-depth investigation and we want to protect the mental and physical health of young people.”

Investigation. According to the European body, the investigation will address the following aspects:

• Compliance with DSA on assessing and mitigating risks arising from the design of Facebook and Instagram interfaces. So everything to do with algorithms and the aforementioned “nest effect”.
• Compliance with the DSA regarding mitigation measures to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content. Here the Commission will highlight age verification measures that “may not be reasonable, proportionate and effective”.
• DSA’s compliance with establishing appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, security and protection of minors, particularly in relation to default privacy settings for minors as part of advice on the design and operation of information systems.

What could happen? Failure to comply with these obligations will constitute a violation of Articles 28, 34 and 35 of the DSA. If this is the case, and the ongoing investigation does not mean that it is, the Commission could fine Meta up to 6 percent of its annual global revenue. In 2023, Meta’s global revenue was 124,531 million euros, resulting in a profit of 36,092 million euros.

Meta has not commented on the matter at this time.

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