Addiction to social networks has been one of the priority topics in the European Parliament for months. MEPs have asked this week to prepare a report on the practices of technology companies to trap users and what measures to take to counteract this trend. Europe considers that the community laws that are being created to regulate artificial intelligence and other new technologies fall short of stopping a problem that is increasingly perceived as more alarming in the Old Continent.
Specifically, several regulations are being debated that would directly affect the way various applications and social networks operate, such as eliminating the unlimited scroll typical of TikTok or Instagram reels and restricting autoplay, the technology that allows play videos consecutively even if the user has not requested it.
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee almost unanimously approved the preparation of this report that warns of the addictive nature of certain digital services, such as online games, social networks, streaming services and Internet purchases, since They take advantage of people's vulnerabilities to capture their attention and monetize their data.
One of the most notable points on which this research will focus is the addictive design of some applications and pages, such as the cases already mentioned, temporary stories, 'likes' or push notifications, which is considered to be It manipulates the vulnerabilities and desires of users and pushes them to spend more time on these platforms.
“There is no self-discipline that can overcome the addictive design to which we are all subjected today. The problematic use of smartphones affects attention span and brain development from an early age,” said the initiative's spokesperson, Green Kim Van Sparrentak.
The Dutch environmentalist has gone further, issuing an alarm call to the entire EU: “If we do not intervene now, it will have a huge impact on future generations. To protect our health we already have strict health and safety regulations for food, alcohol and tobacco. The EU must now address addictive design.”
