The European Commission is opening the door on suspicion of violations of child protection a case against the Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta. There are fears that the design of the services, including their algorithms, could trigger addictive behavior in children.
The Brussels authority particularly fears a so-called rabbit hole effect when it comes to children. What this means is that you get so deeply lost in a topic that you can’t find your way out – similar to how the main character in the story “Alice in Wonderland” gets lost down a rabbit hole.
The EU argues that the algorithms created by Meta-Develop can theoretically recognize and exploit such behavioral patterns so that users spend more time on a platform.
According to a new EU law on digital services (Digital Services Act, DSA for short), online platforms are obliged to provide special protection for minors. It is therefore forbidden to specifically target children and young people with advertising that is based on personal data. Platforms must also ensure that their applications do not exploit the inexperience of minors and cause addictive behavior.
Cases are also underway against X and Tiktok
The Commission has doubts whether Meta is complying sufficiently with these rules. The company’s age control methods are also cause for concern. These may not be effective. The commission now wants to continue collecting evidence, for example through interviews. With the initiation of the procedure, only a suspicion is being examined; the result has not yet been determined, according to reports from Brussels.
The commission had already initiated another procedure against Meta at the end of April. This concerns the suspicion that the company did not adhere to the DSA when dealing with political advertising. The platforms must act faster and more sharply than before against illegal content such as hate and hate speech online. Otherwise they face hefty fines.
In principle, according to the DSA, large services like Facebook or Tiktok have to follow more rules than small ones. Cases are already underway against Tiktok and X (formerly Twitter). Tiktok is examining whether the Chinese company is endangering the mental health of minors with its app version Tiktok Lite. After reports of illegal and misleading contributions to Hamas’ attack on Israel, X was sent a list of questions, which the company apparently did not answer to the satisfaction of the EU Commission. Proceedings against X were initiated in mid-December.