MEPs of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (‘IMCO’) adopted, on Wednesday 25 October, the own-initiative report by Kim Van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA, Dutch) on rules to make digital platforms less addictive (38 votes in favour, none against, one abstention).
“No self-discipline can beat the addictive design we are all subject to today. Problematic smartphone use affects attention span and brain development from a young age. This is one of the challenges of our time. If we do not intervene now, this will have an enormous impact on generations to come”, said Ms Van Sparrentak.
The report first focuses on the effects on mental health that certain digital services, such as online games, social media, streaming services and online marketplaces, can have, particularly as a result of their deliberately addictive design.
On this point, MEPs say they are “particularly concerned” about the impact of digital dependency on children and teenagers, who, according to the report, are the most vulnerable to symptoms such as loss of concentration and cognitive capacity, burnout, stress, depression and limited physical activity.
To limit this, the members of the European Parliament’s 'IMCO' committee agreed on the need to introduce new rules to complement the current Digital Services Act (DSA) (see EUROPE 13262/9) and the forthcoming Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) (see EUROPE 13277/19) (see other news), which are deemed “insufficient” to tackle the specific issue of the addictive nature of platforms.
To achieve this, the report calls on the Commission to present a new legislative proposal on the subject. This future legislative proposal should, among other things, oblige companies to develop “ethical” digital products with no dark patterns. A ‘right to not be disturbed’ and a list of good design practices should be introduced at the design stage.
These good design practices could, for example, include turning off notifications by default, automatic locks after a pre-set time use, or total screen time summaries. MEPs also put forward the idea of educational guidelines and awareness-raising campaigns focusing in particular on safer online behaviour and healthier habits.
To see the document: https://aeur.eu/f/98y (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)