Children online, EU: “Meta and TikTok are making our children addicted; we will not tolerate this”

Brussels – Meta and TikTok “offer highly harmful services” that “are addictive for our children and the public.” Not only that, but “they continue to make money at the expense of our citizens’ wellbeing, and we will not tolerate this.” This was stated today (3 September) by the European Commission spokesperson, Thomas Reigner, during the daily press briefing. 

Yesterday, the French MEP for Renew Stéphanie Yon-Courtin and 51 other MEPs sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding the recent agreement between Meta and 48 US states in the case in which the Californian group was accused of deliberately designing its social media platforms to create addiction in adolescents. According to reports from several news agencies, the signatories believe that US courts have been quicker to secure greater safeguards than the EU. Therefore, the Commission must examine “without further delay” the 2024 investigation—the formal proceedings launched on 16 May 2024 to investigate Meta’s compliance with the Digital Services Act, the European legislation designed to make the online space safer, more transparent, and more accountable. In light of this, they are reported to have asked the head of the European Commission to act more swiftly and assertively, for example by issuing a finding of non-compliance or imposing sanctions. 

The spokesperson confirmed that the government had received the letter and stated that although Meta “offers certain safety measures for children in the United States” and “TikTok does the same in China,” they remain two companies that “provide highly harmful services” when it comes to children’s addiction. This is the reason that prompted the Berlaymont Building to “introduce the DSA,” which is now driving it to press ahead with investigations into the platforms’ compliance with its regulations. “Of course, one might argue that our investigations are slow,” added the spokesperson, but he noted that the Commission cannot be accused of slowness when the case overseas “has lasted three years” and “will take effect in ten.” As the European Union, “we have reached the same preliminary conclusions in just two years, under the DSA,” he pointed out.

Therefore, the Commission will not accept “an agreement containing just one or two safety measures” because that does not reflect the reason why “the DSA was created.” The spokesperson clarified that the law “aims to tackle, and is already tackling, the addictive design features of these platforms,” such as infinite scrolling, autoplay, and push notifications—referring to the conclusions reached by the Commission last July when it determined that Meta’s design created Instagram and Facebook addiction and breached the DSA. “Meta and TikTok still have the opportunity to make commitments to protect our citizens,” he went on to clarify. Consequently, Brussels cannot be accused of inaction after “making the protection of children online one of its top priorities.” 

“Five hours a day spent on social media by our children—that’s 20 years of their lives—is an awful lot,” Reigner pointed out, describing it as a “situation that must change.” It was also mentioned that the President has already announced that “if platforms do not build safety features into their systems from the design stage, we will have to do more.” For this reason, the European Commission is working “on a proposal for a social media ban, which will be presented in the future.” What is certain is that “we have nothing satisfactory on the table that would allow us to close the case,” he concluded. 

Launched in 2024, formal proceedings to investigate Meta’s compliance with the DSA are based on an in-depth investigation that includes an analysis of the company’s risk assessment reports, data, internal documents and the responses to numerous requests for information provided by Meta itself. The alleged breaches relate to Meta’s policies and practices concerning misleading advertising and political content on its services.