Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 12 December 2023 - Strasbourg

7.16. Addictive design of online services and consumer protection in the EU single market (A9-0340/2023 - Kim Van Sparrentak) (vote)

– Before the vote:

  Kim Van Sparrentak, rapporteur. – Madam President, dear colleagues, today is a historic day. The European Parliament leads the way and is the first parliament in the world to call for action against addictive design of apps and smartphones.

No self-discipline can beat Big Tech’s addictive design tricks we are all subject to on a daily basis. It affects the attention span and brain development from a young age. We see especially youngsters glued to their phones, with 16 to 24 year olds spending an average of seven hours on their phones per day, potentially leading to a bigger risk of depression, anxiety and even attention disorders. If we do not intervene now, this will have an enormous impact on generations to come.

We set rules for slot machines, but every time we open our apps, scroll down or refresh our social media, the same thing happens in our brains. This is why we have to ban the most addictive design features, such as the endless scroll, tackle addictive algorithms, and introduce a right not to be disturbed.

So, it is up to you, and not the tech companies, to decide exactly what attention-grabbing features you want on your phone and when. The time is now to step up our game against the toxic business models of Big Tech.

The Parliament is clear, and now it’s up to the Commission to make proposals to tackle addictive design for us and all generations to come.