The European Commission has officially launched an investigation into Meta and it’s products, specifically Facebook and Instagram, to see if its breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the protection of minors.
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The European Commission writes in its press release that its concerned that Facebook and Instagram aren’t doing enough to protect the mental and physical health of children using the apps. The EU states its concerned specifically with the platforms’ algorithms as they may create a “rabbit-hole effects” that leads to behavioural addictions in children. Additionally, the Commission is concerned with the Meta’s implementation of age verification on both platforms.
In simpler words, the Commission is accusing Facebook and Meta of having algorithms that cause behavioural addictions in children, which leads to them not wanting to put the social media down and participate in real life. Moreover, the investigation will evaluate if Meta is doing all it can to protect children from digesting inappropriate content, and isn’t intentionally curating its algorithm to promote addiction.
Furthermore, if the European Union finds that rules of the DSA have been broken it will fine the company up to 6% of its global revenue, which would account for billions of dollars. In 2022, Meta’s total revenue was $131.9 billion dollars – 6% of that is nearly $8 billion.