Asger Risom
The European Union is preparing new measures against TikTok and Instagram targeting features like infinite scrolling and autoplay, as regulators increasingly argue social media platforms are engineered to maximize addictive behavior among children.
The European Union is preparing new measures targeting TikTok, Instagram and other major social media platforms over features regulators believe are designed to keep children hooked for as long as possible.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels is specifically targeting tools such as infinite scrolling, autoplaying videos and push notifications — mechanisms increasingly criticized for encouraging compulsive social media use among minors.
Europe targets “addictive” features
Speaking at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Denmark, von der Leyen said the EU is already taking action against TikTok and Meta over what regulators describe as addictive platform design.
“We are taking action against TikTok and its addictive design — infinite scrolling, autoplay and push notifications,” she said, according to CNBC and Reuters.
Von der Leyen added that the European Commission also believes Meta platforms are failing to properly enforce minimum age requirements on Instagram and Facebook.
The growing regulatory push reflects wider concerns among European governments that recommendation algorithms and engagement systems are exposing children to harmful content while encouraging excessive screen time.
Inside the algorithm
EU regulators are now examining how recommendation systems can pull younger users into what officials described as “tunnels” of harmful material.
According to the European Commission, investigators are studying how platforms may repeatedly push content related to eating disorders, self-harm and other dangerous behaviors toward minors through automated recommendation engines.
The focus marks a broader shift in how governments are approaching online safety regulation.
Rather than targeting individual posts alone, regulators are increasingly scrutinizing the underlying engagement systems themselves — particularly the algorithms and interface designs optimized to maximize user retention.
Features like infinite scrolling and autoplay are central to that model because they remove natural stopping points that would otherwise encourage users to leave apps.
New age checks coming
Alongside the investigations, the EU is developing its own age verification system designed to work across online platforms.
Von der Leyen said the application would eventually integrate into European digital identity wallets and comply with what she described as “the highest privacy standards in the world.”
The system would allow platforms to verify users’ ages directly without requiring companies to develop their own verification infrastructure.
European officials argue the technology needed to properly restrict minors’ access to social platforms already exists, meaning companies can no longer claim effective enforcement is technically impossible.
According to Reuters and CNBC, the European Commission could unveil broader child online safety legislation later this summer following consultations with experts.
Pressure builds globally
The crackdown comes as governments worldwide intensify pressure on major technology platforms over the mental health effects of social media on younger users.
Several European countries, including France, Spain and the UK, are already considering stricter rules around teenage access to social platforms.
Australia recently became the first country to approve a broad social media ban for users under 16.
The debate has also accelerated following recent court decisions in the United States linking features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling to addiction-like behavior and worsening mental health outcomes among teenagers.
For European regulators, the issue is no longer simply about harmful content appearing online — but whether the platforms themselves are structurally designed to maximize dependency.
Sources: CNBC, Reuters
