TapTechNews May 16 news, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton announced on social media platform X on May 16 that the EU has formally launched an investigation into Facebook and Instagram under Meta according to the Digital Services Act (DSA) today. He stated, We believe that Meta has not done a good enough job in fulfilling its obligations under the Digital Services Act, that is, reducing the risks of negative impacts on young Europeans on the Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Breton stated that the EU will investigate the following aspects in depth: the potential addictive and rabbit hole effects (Note: Users are easily attracted by continuous content when browsing the internet, which may lead them to escape from real-life situations); the effectiveness of age verification tools; and the level of privacy and security provided to minors in the operation of recommendation systems.
The European Commission is concerned that the systems of Facebook and Instagram, including their algorithms, may stimulate children's addictive online behavior and create a 'rabbit hole' effect, the European Commission said in a statement.
As part of the Digital Services Act (DSA) launched by the EU last year, tech companies are required to strengthen efforts to combat illegal harmful content on their platforms.
Under the Digital Services Act, companies found in violation could face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.