A tech journalist has said that not enough is being done by Meta to dissuade scrolling and enforce parental controls.
Tech journalist Emmet Ryan has said that social media giant Meta was not doing enough to support parents trying to “limit screen time and make the product less addictive for their children”.
Speaking on The Hard Shoulder, he said the EU's threats of fines if design changes aren't made could result in "cosmetic" changes from the media giant.
The European Commission has said that social media giant Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook after they have been found to be in breach of EU digital rules because of their addictive design.
However, Meta released a statement to say that they disagree with these preliminary findings which allegedly fail to account for the steps that Meta has already taken to protect young users.
“There's not enough being done on Facebook, on Instagram to encourage younger users to take a break”, Technology Journalist Emmett Ryan told The Hard Shoulder.
Instagram logo. Image: ZUMA Press WireWhy Meta may be fined
Mr Ryan explained that the social media giant was not doing enough to support parents trying to “limit screen time and make the product less addictive for their children”.
“The EU has basically said these aren't front and centre enough”, he told Newstalk.
“[There’s not enough being done by Facebook] to make the product less hyper tuned to what is keeping us on it.
“All those little notifications fire our dopamine receptors and make us stay on and doom scroll for longer when we should be asleep.”
He explained that while the EU highlighted the issue and Meta has pushed back, it would be a long process at the end of which the EU was likely to pass judgement.
“That'll likely include some form of a fine”, he told Newstalk.
“If the fine is issued, Facebook will obviously be able to appeal. What would happen then is that money would go in escrow. Facebook wouldn't have access to the money, but it wouldn't be with the EU yet.”
Mr Ryan explained that concretely the EU is hoping that Meta makes it much harder for people to stay hooked on these apps.
He praised the government and the EU’s continued efforts against addictive app design but warned Meta was likely to make only “cosmetic changes”.
