Portugal: Digital Rights Group Sues Meta, TikTok and YouTube Over Addictive Platform Design
A Portuguese digital-rights organisation has launched legal action against Meta, TikTok and YouTube, accusing the companies of using design features intended to keep users engaged for excessive periods.
The group D3 – Defesa dos Direitos Digitais filed collective lawsuits in Lisbon against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The cases challenge features including infinite scrolling, autoplay, persistent notifications and highly personalised recommendation systems.
D3 argues that these mechanisms can encourage compulsive patterns of use and says social-media platforms should be designed with stronger protections for users. The organisation is seeking greater accountability over the way major technology companies design their digital services.
The legal action comes as regulators and governments across Europe increase scrutiny of potentially addictive digital features. The European Union has already examined TikTok’s design practices, while similar legal disputes involving social-media companies have emerged in other countries.
YouTube’s parent company Google said it aims to provide a safer experience and pointed to tools such as break reminders and bedtime settings. Meta and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance had not commented on the Portuguese lawsuits in the Reuters report.
The cases could add to growing pressure on major technology platforms to demonstrate that their recommendation systems and user-interface designs do not deliberately encourage excessive engagement.
