The European Commission has issued preliminary findings that Meta may be violating the European Union’s Digital Services Act through design features that encourage compulsive use of Facebook and Instagram.

Regulators highlighted autoplay, infinite scrolling, personalized recommendations and push notifications as features that could affect users’ physical and mental wellbeing. The Commission said Meta had not adequately addressed those risks or clearly warned users about them.

The findings follow an investigation opened in 2024. They are not a final ruling, and Meta will have an opportunity to respond before the Commission decides whether the company broke the law.

Meta disputed the assessment, saying it has introduced Teen Accounts with default protections, parental controls and tools that can restrict nighttime access or daily screen time. The company said it would continue engaging with European regulators.

The Commission said some existing safeguards were too easy to dismiss and that parental controls demanded too much technical knowledge. It urged Meta to consider disabling autoplay and infinite scroll and to make recommendation systems less focused on maximizing engagement.

If regulators ultimately find a violation, the Digital Services Act allows fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue. CNN estimated that such a penalty could exceed $12 billion based on Meta’s previous-year revenue.

Source: CNN Business and the European Commission. The findings are preliminary and remain subject to Meta’s response and further proceedings.