The European Commission is preparing to grant itself new powers to impose fines on Big Tech companies that fail to protect consumers, particularly children, from online spending traps and manipulative design practices. The planned Digital Fairness Act is expected to be introduced in late 2026 and aims to address dark patterns, addictive design features, subscription traps, and unfair personalization practices that exploit consumer vulnerabilities for commercial gain.
On July 10, the Commission reported preliminary findings suggesting that Meta is in breach of the Digital Services Act due to the “addictive” design of its platforms Instagram and Facebook. The investigation identified features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and highly personalized recommendation systems as contributing to compulsive user behavior, described in the report as causing users’ brains to shift into “autopilot mode.”
The Commission has called on Meta to disable autoplay and infinite scroll by default, introduce effective screen-time breaks, and adjust its recommendation algorithm to lessen its focus on engagement. If the allegations are confirmed, Meta could face fines of up to 6% of its total global annual turnover. The company has the opportunity to review the evidence and provide a formal response to the findings.
Separately, on July 9, the European Parliament voted to reinstate Chat Control 1.0, allowing platforms to voluntarily scan unencrypted private messages for child sexual abuse material until April 2028. Critics argue that the measure passed through a procedural loophole, following two previous rejections in March. A narrow vote using an “urgent procedure” allowed a second-reading revote that required 361 votes to block the legislation, rather than a simple majority to pass.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov criticized the EU’s decision, labeling it as a move towards becoming a “banana republic.” He asserted that Telegram would not comply with the law by scanning private messages. Privacy advocates noted that end-to-end encrypted services such as WhatsApp and Signal are exempt from the law’s scope.
The week has seen intensified EU regulatory actions against the technology sector. On July 8, the EU General Court dismissed Apple’s challenge to its designation as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act. Additionally, on July 2, Europe’s top court upheld a €4.1 billion antitrust fine against Alphabet related to its Android operating system. These developments indicate a growing regulatory focus by the EU on consumer protection and child safety in online environments.
