Activities of Geert BOURGEOIS related to 2023/2043(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on addictive design of online services and consumer protection in the EU single market
Amendments (21)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas digital services, including social media, are radically changing society and bringing positive effects such as increased efficiency, simplification, time and cost savings, connectedness, accessibility and leisure. Social media also allows children and young people to learn about and appreciate different perspectives and worldviews, as well as to build knowledge and explore areas of interest; whereas digitisation and social media also pose new challenges to society and require policy attention to both physical and mental health risks associated with the use of online services;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas behaviour modification need not necessarily be negative and apps can help us become more productive or exercise more, for example. Apps can solve specific problems, streamline things and make life easier, as illustrated by traffic, banking or translation apps; whereas the likelihood of addiction is many times higher with social media apps, since many of them are commercially designed to make us interact with the platform as much as possible; whereas commercial success and ethical app development are not mutually exclusive;
Amendment 18 #
Ba. whereas more and ongoing research is needed into the correlation between social media and health, especially the impact of social media on mental health; whereas research on the link between screen use and physical health is robust, identifying a clear link between increased screen use and nearsightedness, decreased motor skills and poor sleeping habits; whereas the effects of social media on mental health are difficult to isolate and are also related to a person's physical environment, personal characteristics and possible vulnerabilities. What may have a positive impact on one person's health may actually be harmful to the health of another person;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas internet-use-related addiction displayscan have similar side effects to substance-related addictions, including evidence of tolerance and relapsewith problematic internet use encompassing a spectrum from mild to severe problems, including addiction; whereas strict regulation exists for addictive products, such as drugs, alcohol, tobacco and gambling to prevent addiction and protect consumers from harm; whereas problematic smartphone or internet use has been linked to lower life satisfaction and mental health symptoms such as depression, low self-esteem, body-image disorders, eating disorders, anxiety, high levels of perceived stress, neglect of family and friends, loss of self-control, lack of sleep and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, such as compulsive buying among young adults; whereas the fact that many young people refer to themselves as 'addicts' indicates growing awareness; whereas the effects of the online environment on mental health are difficult to isolate and more research is emerging about a causal relationship - cause and effect - between online presence and mental health; whereas heavy users of digital media are twice as likely to have mental- health issues, including risk factors for suicide and self-harm; whereas children and young people are more vulnerable to these symptoms; whereas mental-health conditions established in childhood can shape an individual’s subsequent life course; whereas excessive internet use is associated with problems with daily obligations, declining grades, poor school and academic performance or poor job performance;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the behavioral design of certain social media apps causes our attention to be constantly drawn away, with the result that we actually multitask far too much and lose focus; whereas it is crucial to make people aware of the importance of monotasking, concentration and self-regulation;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas according to some research, excessive screen time or problematic use impacts brain development; whereas increases in social media use problems are linked to attention deficits, shorter attention spans, impulsiveness and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms; whereas intensive social media use has been associated with lower levels of grey matter in certain areas of the brain, just as is the case with other addictive substances, such as alcohol and heroin; whereas excessive screen time (more than 2-3 hours a day in front of a screen) can have effects on neurodevelopment, learning and memory, and the sedentary lifestyle linked to time spent on electronic media brings a potential increased risk of early neurodegeneration;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas addictive design can be seen to have a negative impact on everyone, not just individuals showing problematic usage patterns; whereas addictive design, especially of smartphones and social media, makes it hard to focus on the task in hand owing to distractions such as messages and notifications constantly disrupting peoples’ concentration, even at school or while driving; whereas the addictive design of online services leads to increased pressure to perform and social pressure to be permanently online and connected, increasing the risk of stress and burnout; whereas consumers online are increasingly confronted with an information overload and excessive sensorial stimuli throughout the day, constraining their cognitive ability, and user interfaces offer only limited control over their data; whereas the time people spend behind screens is time not spent being physically active, moving, being outside, or shutting down and relaxing, all of which are associated with physical and mental well-being; whereas adolescents who spend a small amount of time on electronic communication are generally the happiest; whereas people that stop using social media for a week experience significant improvements in well-being;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas recommender systems, which are based both on personalisation and on interaction such as clicks and likes, represent an important persuasive, addictive or behavioural design feature; whereas such recommender systems are solely aimed at keeping users on the platform and cause harm both to them and society at large; whereas the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), applicable as of 17 February 2024, has introduced important transparency obligations regarding recommendation systems used by online platforms that also enable users to make more conscious choices in their use of online services; whereas the AI Regulation currently on the negotiating table may provide a further opportunity to regulate manipulative social-media practices through algorithms; whereas legislative consistency must always be ensured;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the addictive design features outlined above cannot be solved simply by imposing time-limits on online services, as this approach shifts the burden onto the individual instead of addressing the core issue of the intentionally addictive design of online services for profit; whereas none of the ‘solutions’ platforms have implementedit is nevertheless crucial to focus on media literacy, awareness and self- regulation; whereas not all social media can be lumped together and initiatives do exist to varying degrees within the industry to work towards a more ethical design; whereas, however, these initiatives have not led to a serious change or decrease in usain usage of certain very large of online serviceplatforms; whereas teenagers do not readily accept parental regulation of their social media use and often find it easy to bypass any technical constraints imposed; whereas thorough policies are needed to protect minors from addictive behavioral design on social media, in which context thought needs to be given to introducing an obligation for internet service providers and manufacturers of Internet-enabled devices to provide user-friendly parental controls, more conclusive monitoring systems as well as a general digital platform which parents and educators can consult for information about the dangers of excessive internet use and how to communicate about the issue with children and young people;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the Digital Services Act (DSA) introduces provisions against the use of ‘dark patterns’ but these are limited to choice architecture and influences choices and do not address behavioural design that is addictive per se, moreover they are limited in scope as they only apply to online platforms, not to all online services; whereas the Digital Services Act also introduced important transparency obligations regarding recommendation systems used by online platforms that also enable users to make more conscious choices when using online platforms; whereas the AI Act4 seeks to ban AI systems that deploy subliminal features but is limited to systems that ‘are purposefully manipulative or deploy deceptive techniques’; whereas this AI Regulation currently on the negotiating table may provide a further opportunity to regulate manipulative social-media practices through algorithms; whereas legislative consistency must always be ensured; _________________ 4 Proposal for a regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence act) (COM(2021)0206).
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas it is crucial to have a broad and open debate on desirable policy options with regard to the addictive design of online services, involving all stakeholders, including policy makers, academics and researchers from a wide range of disciplines, industry and both adult and youth users;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Is alarmed that certain platforms and other tech companies exploit psychological vulnerabilities to design digital interfaces for commercial interests that maximise the frequency and duration of user visits, so as to prolong the use of online services and to create engagement with the platform; stresses that addictive design can cause psychological, physical and material harm to consumers; calls on the Commission to urgenexamine and, where necessary, adequately and promptly close existing regulatory gaps with regard to consumer vulnerabilities, dark patterns and addictive features of digital services;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that despite itsthe legislative efforts in the digital field, such as the DSA or the AI Act, it needs to be ascertained whether the issue of addictive design is not sufficiently coveraddressed in existing and pending EU legislation, and if unaddressed could lead to further deterioration; considers that in the areabsence of pubolic health, especially affecting minors; considers that if the topic gets further delayed, Parliament should use its right of legislative initiativey initiatives in this regard, Parliament should take the lead;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to present legislation against addictive designexamine whether and what policy initiatives are necessary and appropriate to address addictive design of online services; urges the Commission in its review of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive5 (UCPD), Consumer Rights Directive6 and Unfair Contract Terms Directive7 (Fitness check) to pay particular attention to and tackle the growing issues around the addictive and manipulative design of online services; calls for this to be done while ensuring legislative consistency; _________________ 5 Directive 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (OJ L 149, 11.6.2005, p. 22). 6 Directive 2011/83/EU of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64). 7 Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (OJ L 95, 21.4.1993, p. 29).
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that the Commission study on unfair commercial practices in the digital environment has found that transparency provisions against dark patterns and manipulative personalisation practices both for average and vulnerable consumers are insufficient to counter the negative consequences; calls on the Commission to prohibit examine whether most harmful practices, which are not yet blacklisted in Annex I of the UCPD or other EU legislation exist, and to impose a fair/neutral design obligation on tradersascertain whether these practices need to be prohibited;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the Commission assessment on taxonomies of dark patterns clarifies that certain addictive design features are not taken into account in the current legislation, including the infinite scroll and the default auto play function present in services such as YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify; stresses that other addictive design features such as interaction-based recommender systems, constant push notifications or read receipt notifications are not covered by existing legislation either; welcomes the fact that the Digital Services Act requires online platforms to be transparent about the key parameters used in their recommendation systems and, where different options are available for recommendation systems that determine the order of information displayed, also to provide a function that allows users to select and change their preferred option at any time; recalls that the Commission in its Guidance on the interpretation of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive expressed concern over uncertainty regarding the rules applicable to addictive interface designs;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for a bann examination to be carried out into the desirability of a ban for under-16s on interaction-based recommender systems, in particular hyper- personalised systems that are designed to be addictive and keep users on the platform as long as possible rather than to serve users information in a more neutral manner; further calls for an examination of whether and to what extent an obligation not to use interaction-based recommendation systems 'by default' is desirable, while allowing the user to choose such a recommendation system in any case, potentially with a mandatory accompanying warning of the dangers of this system; underlines that it is evident from whistle-blowers’ testimonies that safer alternative recommender systems are possible, such as those based on chronological order, those with more real user control over the content is displayed or those based on more secure settings, but that these alternatives are less profitable for social-media platforms;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Demands that, in its legislation on addictive design, the Commission puts forward consideration be given to a digital ‘right not to be disturbed’ including design that would turn all attention seeking features off by default; where the user can choose to activate such features, possibly with an attached mandatory warning of the potential dangers of such features;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Urges the Commission to promote and ensure ethical design of online services and examine where and what policy initiatives are needed; calls on the Commission to create a list of good practices of design features that are not addictive or manipulative and ensure users are fully in control and can take conscious and informed actions online without facing an information overload; stresses that policy actions in this area should not place a burden on consumers but address the harm caused by the businesses; notes the best practices of ‘think before you share’, turning all notifications off by default, more neutral online recommendations, such as those based on chronological order or increased user-control, up-front choice between colour and greyscale apps, or warnings when users have spent more than 15 minutes or 30 minutes on a specific service, an automatic locking of certain online services when minors have used that service for a given period of time, with a PIN code being required to continue use, a restriction on the times during which minors can use certain online services, or weekly summaries of total screen time, further broken down by online service;