Article 9Addictive design

1. Providers of online social networking services and of video-sharing platform services shall not design, organise or operate their services in a manner that is intended, or can reasonably be foreseen, to encourage compulsive or excessive use of the online social networking services and of video-sharing platform services by minors.

2. The following features shall be deemed to encourage compulsive or excessive use of the service by minors within the meaning of paragraph 1:

• (a)
  enabling automatic play of content and uninterrupted content consumption without effective and regular interruption moments that enable deliberation by the minor on their willingness to consume more content;
• (b)
  undermining the minor’s decision to discontinue use of the service or not providing minors with the ability to take such decision, such as notifications not triggered by, or not directly related to, the minor’s interaction or activity on the service;
• (c)
  incentivising or rewarding minors to share content or to engage in real-time transmission of content to an indeterminate number of recipients of the service;
• (d)
  incentivising engagement at regular times or with greater frequency, including through penalties or loss of benefits for failing to engage regularly or within specified time intervals.

3. Providers of online social networking services and of video-sharing platform services shall put in place effective measures to ensure:

• (a)
  time-limited access for minors on their service;
• (b)
  interruption of usage by minors on their service.

Such measures shall be designed in a way that protects school time and core sleep hours of minors.