Infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and a personalised recommender. These are the features that determine how many people see a creator's post on Instagram and Facebook. On 10 July the European Commission identified them as the core of the problem.
In its preliminary finding, it states that Meta breaches the Digital Services Act through these features, because it did not sufficiently assess their risks for the physical and mental wellbeing of users, “including minors and vulnerable adults”.
For a brand that builds its reach on organic content, the engine of distribution is being decided here.
What the Commission objects to in Meta
According to CNBC, the Commission described the specific mechanics of these features. The endless feed and automatic playback of the next video, in its words, are “feeding users' compulsion to continue using platforms and putting them into 'autopilot mode'.” Meta, according to the Commission, has not done enough to mitigate them and must change the design. The statement goes so far as to demand that autoplay and infinite scroll be switched off by default and that “screen time breaks” be introduced.
This default setting matters a great deal for creators. These are the channels through which organic content reaches people who do not follow the account. If autoplay and infinite scroll are switched off by default, and recommendation becomes less oriented towards engagement, the rules change by which attention is currently won on both platforms in Europe.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said that “Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms.”
The sanction ceiling and Meta's response
If the findings are confirmed, Meta faces a fine of up to 6% of total annual turnover. Euronews calculated that, based on the company's turnover of around $201 billion for 2025, the theoretical ceiling would exceed $12 billion.
This is the upper limit of the mechanism, not an imposed penalty. The concrete impact will depend on interpretation and enforcement, and Meta has the right to review the file and respond in writing before the Commission issues a final decision.
Meta disagrees with the findings. A company spokesperson said that “We disagree with these preliminary findings, which don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens.” Since the start of the investigation, the company has introduced Teen Accounts, which in its words “automatically protect teens and put parents in control”, and which give parents the option to block access at night and limit daily screen time to 15 minutes.
This is the second time in 2026 that the Commission has found Meta in breach of its rules. In April it reproached the company for failing to prevent children under 13 from accessing its platforms.
Regulation targets the mechanics of reach
The preliminary finding on addictive design is the first of its kind under the DSA. It sets a template for how the Commission reads the responsibility of very large platforms for their own distribution mechanics. Recommenders, autoplay and infinite scroll are not peculiar to Meta. They are standard tools through which reach is generated today. Regulation that labels them a risky design bears on the logic that creators and brands in Europe build their exposure on.
For a brand's media buyer, this poses a concrete question for next year's plan. If part of organic reach on Instagram and Facebook depends on default autoplay and an infinite feed, the European version of these platforms may work differently from the global one. Distribution, which the company takes for granted today, becomes a variable set by a Brussels file.
Meta will respond, and the decision is not final. What is certain, however, is that the dispute is being fought for the first time over the mechanics of attention itself. This time, the content that flows through those mechanics stands on the sidelines.
Comments