It’s just a project, but it reveals what the EU’s concerns are and, predictably, the rules that will be debated in the coming years. This time, efforts are aimed at curbing the techniques that digital platforms use to hook citizens to their products, addictive techniques such as infinite scrolling (showing content after content, without the need for the user to click at any time and without interruptions to motivate him to leave a place) and which even its creator (Aza Raskin) called “behavioral cocaine”.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee adopted a draft report (with 38 votes in favor, none against and a single abstention) that warns about the addictive nature of certain digital services, such as games online, social networks, streaming services and online services, “markets, which exploit people’s vulnerabilities to capture their attention and monetize their data”, point out the European Parliament.
And they go further. MEPs say the Commission should examine and ban harmful addictive techniques that are not covered by the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, such as endless scrolling, default autoplay, push and constant reading notifications. Because? Because they play on people’s vulnerabilities and desires and push them to spend more time on these platforms.
Speaker Kim van Sparrentak (Greens/ ALE, Netherlands) believes that “no amount of self-discipline can overcome the addictive design to which we are all subject today. Problematic smartphone use affects attention span and brain development from an early age. It is one of the challenges of our time. If we don’t act now, this will have a huge impact on generations to come. We already have strict health and safety rules for food, alcohol and tobacco to protect our health. The EU must now address addictive design!”.
The MEPs are clear that social networks are very positive for society (for example, they increase efficiency, accessibility, connectivity), but warn that “its addictive design can cause physical, psychological and material damage (loss of concentration and cognitive ability, exhaustion, stress, depression, limited physical activity)”, they point out. MEPs are particularly concerned about the impact that digital addiction has on children and teenagers, who are more vulnerable to these symptoms, and are calling for more regulation in this area.
MEPs want companies to be forced to develop ethical and fair digital products and services “by design”, without dark, deceptive and addictive patterns.
In his opinion, the Commission should propose a digital “right not to be disturbed” and create a list of good design practices such as: “Think before you share”; disable notifications by default; chronological feeds; grayscale mode; warnings or automatic blocking after a preset time of use (in particular for minors); summaries of total screen time…
The European Commission is currently carrying out an assessment to see if certain consumer protection legislation needs to be updated to ensure a high level of protection in the digital environment. The results are expected by 2024.
