Dutch court rules Meta must respect persistent user feed choices

A Dutch court ruled on 2 October 2025 that Meta must provide a persistent, user-controlled option for non-profiled feeds on Instagram and Facebook, siding with Bits of Freedom in summary proceedings under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The court held that Meta’s current design—where the app defaults to a personalized, profiling-based feed and buries the alternative behind obscure navigation—violates the DSA’s purpose of ensuring genuine autonomy, freedom of choice, and control over information presentation.

The judge found that non-persistent choice and design nudges toward profiling-based recommendation systems significantly disrupt users’ autonomy, particularly given social media’s role in news and information distribution. The ruling requires Meta to preserve the user’s chosen feed across app sections and sessions, and to avoid design patterns that degrade functionality (such as limiting access to Direct Messages) for users who select a non-profiled timeline.

Although the judgment’s formal effect is limited to the Netherlands, its reasoning is grounded in EU-wide obligations under the DSA, suggesting broader relevance. Absent divergent national case law, similar outcomes can be expected across the EU, especially where large platforms deploy dark patterns to steer users toward profiling and ad-driven feeds.

The case underscores enforcement momentum around DSA provisions on recommender systems, dark patterns, and user choice. It signals to very large online platforms that compliance must extend beyond formal options to include meaningful, durable, and accessible user controls. Civil society actors, regulators, and courts are likely to leverage this precedent to scrutinize design choices that undermine user autonomy, particularly in sensitive periods such as elections.