Dutch court pressures Meta to keep non-profiling social media feeds available

A court in the Netherlands has increased legal pressure on Meta over how its platforms present content to users. The Amsterdam Court of Appeals ruled that Facebook and Instagram must ensure that users can choose a timeline that does not rely on profiling-based recommendations, and that this option must remain active once selected.

The decision raises the potential penalty for failing to comply with the ruling from €5 million to €10 million, signalling that the court expects Meta to implement the required changes quickly.

The case was brought by the Dutch digital rights organisation Bits of Freedom, which argued that users who switched to a non-algorithmic feed were automatically returned to the standard personalised timeline after navigating the platform or reopening the application.

Judges concluded that this behaviour constitutes a ‘dark pattern’, a design technique that nudges users toward certain choices without clearly informing them. Such practices are restricted under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires large online platforms to provide greater transparency and user control over recommendation systems.

The court acknowledged that Meta had introduced several technical adjustments in response to the complaint. However, it found that the changes did not fully ensure that the non-profiling timeline option remains permanently active once a user selects it.

The dispute also illustrates how the Digital Services Act is being enforced across the European Union. Before turning to the courts, Bits of Freedom had filed a complaint with Coimisiún na Meán, the Irish authority responsible for overseeing Meta’s compliance with EU platform rules. According to the organisation, the lack of regulatory progress prompted the legal action in the Netherlands.

Meta has indicated that it plans to challenge the ruling through further legal proceedings. The case may become an important test of how European courts interpret and enforce the DSA’s requirements on algorithmic recommendation systems and user choice online.