MEPs call for new rules on digital platforms’ addictive design

11 months ago 36

The European Parliament adopted with a broad majority the initiative to make digital platforms less addictive at its plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday (12 December).

Since last year, the Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee has been working on a resolution on “Addictive design of online services”, which refers to capturing users’ attention so they spend as much time on platforms as possible.

The report was adopted with overwhelming support, with 545 votes in favour, only 12 against, and 61 abstentions. With this initiative, the MEPs hope to put the issue on the table of the next legislative mandate, following next June’s European elections.

The argument to legislate in this area is that while there are regulations for addictions, such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or gambling, there has not been one for addiction to digital platforms in general and social media in particular.

“We set rules for slot machines, but every time we open our app, scroll down, or refresh our social media, the same thing happens in our brains”, the initiative’s lead, Green MEP Kim van Sparrentak, said in her speech ahead of the vote.

Problematic design features feeding into addiction include, for example, endless scrolling or autoplay. These have become common practice in the most popular social media platforms.

The text is the same as the one adopted at the committee level, with no amendment tabled. The report urges the Commission to determine which present legislations or policy initiatives are needed against addictive design, such as reviewing the Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive.

At the end of November, The Guardian also reported about a complaint, as part of a lawsuit against Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, about underage children’s accounts on social media not being identified and taken down, even when asked by their parents.

The European Parliament “is the first parliament to call for action against the addictive design of apps and smartphones”, van Sparrentak added. “No self-discipline can beat big tech’s addictive design we are all subject to on a daily basis”, she added.

The EU executive is conducting a ‘fitness check’, evaluating the current consumer law and whether it needs to be updated. The addictive use of digital services is among the topics covered in this exercise, which is meant to feed into a Digital Fairness Act.

“Today, the European Parliament sends a strong signal: the EU has to be the first in the world to tackle the addictive design of online services”, van Sparrentak said after the vote.