EU chief turns up heat on social media’s ‘addictive’ features like endless scrolling and autoplay

BRUSSELS, May 12 — The European Union is working on new rules ‌to protect children from the addictive designs of social media such as TikTok, Meta and X, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today.

“Sleep deprivation, depression, ‌anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, suicide. Risks are multiplying fast,” von der Leyen said in a speech in Copenhagen.

“These risks are the reality of the digital world. They are not accidental. They are the result of business models that treat our children’s attention as a commodity.”

Von der Leyen said the Commission would specifically target “addictive and harmful design practices” in its Digital Fairness Act (DFA), due to be proposed towards the end of the year.

The DFA would also set strict limits on the use ‌of artificial intelligence in social media, she said, while she advocated for a ⁠minimum age for social media access.

Von ⁠der Leyen said the EU must consider setting ⁠a minimum age for access to ⁠social media, ⁠adding that the Commission might make a proposal this summer on the issue following recommendations from a panel of experts.

“The question is not whether young ⁠people should have access to social media, the question is whether social media should have access to young people,” she said.

The new regulation will strengthen and expand the Digital Services Act (DSA) which requires large platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content, she said.

Under these rules, the ⁠Commission is already investigating TikTok, X and Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook.

“We are taking action against TikTok and its addictive design, endless scrolling, ⁠autoplay and push notifications. The same applies to Meta, because we believe Instagram and ⁠Facebook are ⁠failing to enforce their own minimum age of 13,” Von der Leyen said.

The Commission has also started proceedings against X for the use of its Grok artificial intelligence ‌tool in creating sexual images of women and children.

Spokespeople at the three companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. — Reuters