EU plans to require social networks to disable features that encourage excessive use
The European Union plans to require social networks to allow adults to disable features that encourage excessive use and to limit chatbots that simulate personal relationships.
According to Bloomberg, the new requirements may affect Meta, Google, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. The European Commission is already investigating Meta and TikTok over suspicions of using designs that can cause addiction. The investigations are being conducted under the Digital Services Act.
The draft Digital Fairness Act provides adult users with the ability to independently disable features that push compulsive or excessive use of platforms. Restrictions may also extend to AI chatbots that simulate personal relationships and encourage continued dialogue. For violating these requirements, companies could face fines of up to 6% of their global annual revenue.
The EU wants social networks and AI developers to ensure safe default settings. These provisions are planned to be included in the broader Online Child Protection Act, which also provides restrictions for teenagers.
The Digital Fairness Act is expected to be presented on Wednesday. The European Commission has not yet commented on its content.
