EU regulators have warned Meta that it must strip Facebook and Instagram of key “addictive” design features or face potentially massive fines under the bloc’s tough new online rules.

The European Commission says Meta is breaching the Digital Services Act by deploying interface tricks and recommendation systems that are engineered to keep users hooked. Investigators highlighted infinite scroll, autoplaying videos, push notifications and highly personalized recommendation algorithms as core elements that encourage compulsive use.

According to the Commission’s preliminary findings, these features push users into what it calls “autopilot mode,” undermining their ability to exercise meaningful control over how long they stay on the platforms. Regulators say Meta failed to properly assess or mitigate the impact of these designs on users’ physical and mental health, with particular concern for minors and vulnerable adults.

Officials also accuse Meta of disregarding internal and external evidence about how long children spend on Facebook and Instagram, especially late at night, and how products such as Reels and Stories can drive excessive engagement. The Commission argues that Meta’s own tools, marketed as safeguards, are largely ineffective.

Time-management features on Facebook and Instagram, including those automatically enabled for teenagers, “can be easily dismissed and do not lead to a meaningful reduction and control of the usage of the service,” the Commission found. In practice, regulators say, these tools function more as a public-relations shield than a real brake on overuse.

Brussels is now pressing Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introduce robust and unavoidable screen-time breaks, and reconfigure its recommendation systems so they are less fixated on maximizing engagement. The aim is to force a shift away from attention-harvesting design toward what the EU calls “safer by design” platforms.

The findings are not yet final. Meta will be allowed to examine the evidence and submit a formal defense before any penalty is imposed. If the Commission’s conclusions are upheld, Meta could be fined up to 6 percent of its global annual revenue, one of the heaviest sanctions available under the Digital Services Act.

The case adds to mounting pressure on Meta on both sides of the Atlantic over the impact of its products on young people. EU regulators have already faulted the company for failing to keep children under 13 off its platforms, while U.S. authorities are pursuing sweeping legal actions accusing Meta of deliberately designing its services to addict minors.