# EU Targets Social Media Addiction and Online ‘Dark Patterns’

Source: [Bloomberg Technology](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-11/eu-targets-social-media-addiction-and-online-dark-patterns) · 2026-11-11 · Industry
Page: https://themorning.dev/story/eu-targets-social-media-addiction-and-online-dark-patterns-76457123e877d004
Kind: policy · Impact: medium

## In brief

- The European Union has unveiled a new plan aimed at curbing practices that manipulate people into spending more time and money online.
- The plan specifically targets social media addiction and online 'dark patterns'.
- The source reports the plan's debut but does not detail specific provisions or deadlines.

## Why it matters

If adopted, rules against addictive design and dark patterns could change how engagement features and purchase flows are built for services available in the EU.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-11: EU debuts a new plan targeting social media addiction and online dark patterns

## Coverage

- [EU Targets Social Media Addiction and Online ‘Dark Patterns’](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-11/eu-targets-social-media-addiction-and-online-dark-patterns) — Bloomberg Technology, 2026-11-11

Tags: eu, regulation, dark-patterns, social-media, addictive-design, consumer-protection

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Dev – https://themorning.dev