Story perspectives

EU Threatens €11 B Fine Over Meta’s Autoplay, Infinite Scroll

7/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Commission told Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scroll on Facebook and Instagram or face a 6 % fine.
EU regulators said Meta broke the Digital Services Act with compulsive-use features.
Meta’s Teen Accounts cap daily screen time at 15 minutes and let parents block night use.
Henna Virkkunen said protecting Europeans’ health is a platform priority.
If confirmed, penalty could exceed €11 billion, joining €120 million fines on X and €200 million on Temu.

History

Historical Context

After the EU adopted the GDPR on 14 April 2016 and it took effect on 25 May 2018, regulators began imposing heavy penalties. In January 2019, France’s data-protection authority fined Google €50 million for consent violations, the bloc’s first major GDPR sanction. The Commission’s later Digital Services Act probe of Meta’s autoplay and infinite-scroll features follows that enforcement precedent.

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Story summary

Commission told Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scroll on Facebook and Instagram or face a 6 % fine.
EU regulators said Meta broke the Digital Services Act with compulsive-use features.
Meta’s Teen Accounts cap daily screen time at 15 minutes and let parents block night use.
Henna Virkkunen said protecting Europeans’ health is a platform priority.
If confirmed, penalty could exceed €11 billion, joining €120 million fines on X and €200 million on Temu.

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