DUBLIN, May 5 (Reuters) – Ireland’s media regulator has opened investigations into Meta’s Instagram and Facebook over concerns EU users cannot easily control what they see online and may be steered by algorithms into highly personalised feeds, it said on Tuesday.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the regulator can probe major online platforms and search engines headquartered in Ireland, and fine them up to 6% of global turnover for breaches of online content rules.
Coimisiun na Mean, the regulator, said the suspected breaches concern whether users can easily select and modify the content they see, and whether Facebook and Instagram’s interfaces deceive or manipulate them away from doing so.
It said it had received complaints about possible “dark patterns,” or deceptive design features, which could prevent users from exercising their right under the DSA to opt for recommender-system feeds that are not based on profiling of personal data.
The regulator recognised “the potential harm that these algorithms can potentially cause by repeatedly pushing harmful content into the feeds of users, especially children and young people,” said John Evans, its digital services commissioner.
META SAYS IT HAS NOT BREACHED DSA
A spokesperson for Meta said the social media company disagreed with “any suggestion” it had breached the DSA, adding it had introduced “substantial changes” to its processes and systems to meet regulatory obligations.
Meta in 2023 introduced an option for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to view and search content that is not based on their previous activity and personal interests. It said it would engage with the Irish regulator and share details of this work.
The European Commission, which carries out many investigations under the DSA on its own, charged TikTok in February with breaching the regulations over addictive features, including its recommender system.
The regulatory moves under the DSA, which requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content, have drawn criticism from the U.S. government.
The Irish regulator has opened investigations in the last six months into X, TikTok and Microsoft’s LinkedIn into potential breaches of other EU online content rules.
(Reporting by Padraic HalpinEditing by Bernadette Baum)
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