Irish regulator to probe Facebook, Instagram over alleged user profiling

Ireland’s media regulator on Tuesday said it has opened a probe into Meta over its recommender system that promotes content on its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

The EU member’s regulator said it is concerned about so-called “dark patterns” or manipulative and deceptive interfaces that impose system-generated feeds of targeted content based on users’ habits.

The practice “could prevent people from exercising their right to choose a recommendations feed that is not based on profiling”, the authority, known as Coimisiun na Mean, said in a statement.