Internet users in the European Union are witnessing a significant transformation in mainstream social networks: the power to opt out of AI-driven content manipulation. Thanks to the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), users of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Snap’s Snapchat can now easily reject “personalized” content feeds based on tracking. Instead, they can choose a more straightforward news feed that displays posts from friends in chronological order. This change marks just the beginning of a regulatory wave; while these updates focus on major platforms within the EU, some are being implemented globally as tech companies seek to streamline compliance.
Facebook got ahead of the DSA compliance deadline by launching a new chronological Feeds tab last month, rolling it out globally—not just in the EU. It’s likely that Meta's decision was influenced by the DSA’s requirement for major platforms to provide users with a choice to view non-personalized content. Importantly, the new Facebook news feed excludes all “Suggested For You” posts. This clear separation between tracking-based recommendations and non-personalized selections is a direct result of the DSA. If Meta could infuse some AI-powered attention grabbing into a simple chronological feed, it undoubtedly would. However, the DSA mandates a clear boundary—users deserve a space free from surveillance.
Recently, YouTube announced that logged-in users who turn off the ‘watch history’ feature will no longer receive video recommendations based on their viewing habits. Curiously, this change also appears to be rolling out globally—not just in the EU. Once again, this adjustment is clearly driven by the DSA.
You may wonder why the choice to disable profiling-based content recommendations is significant. Isn’t this a minor detail in the larger discussion about platform power? The answer is both yes and no. Platforms maintain user engagement through various means, including an information imbalance that allows them to track what users click on, engage with, and search for.
Content tailored through tracking doesn’t require sophisticated algorithms; in fact, it can seem remarkably rudimentary. For instance, after merely watching a cat video on Instagram, my home feed became inundated with posts about cats for months. This relentless barrage of feline content felt never-ending—truly, the longest tail…
How this typically unfolded was that after scrolling through a limited number of posts from accounts I actually follow, the AI would take over, flooding the rest of my feed with an overwhelming selection of cat videos—cute, acrobatic, funny, meme-worthy, and heartwarming rescues. I started to dread logging onto Instagram due to the content I felt obligated to consume.
Don’t get me wrong; I love cats and enjoy cute cat videos. However, I resent the relentless stream of furry content designed to keep me glued to the platform for the benefit of Mark Zuckerberg’s bottom line. This experience feels manipulative, and I have eagerly awaited DSA compliance to bring an end to this algorithmic onslaught.
Today, I can finally report that I’ve found fur-free tranquility on Instagram!
While AI-generated cat videos haven’t disappeared entirely, my home feed now presents two options: “Following” and “For You,” with the latter still filled with cat-related posts. Thankfully, I can now opt to see only content from accounts I follow and bypass the algorithmically curated selections engineered to capture my attention.
Instagram’s ‘Explore’ tab initially defaults to algorithmic suggestions (“For You”), but a click on the down arrow next to the label reveals a new option: “Not personalized.” Engaging this feature replaces the AI-generated recommendations (mine being cats and climbing videos) with a collection of images reminiscent of sprawling nature photography. Admittedly, it looks a bit mundane, but it’s peaceful—and I never frequented the Explore tab anyway.
On Facebook, activating the (retro) chronological news feed transforms the platform momentarily, letting posts from friends who normally get overshadowed by the algorithm rise to visibility. The home page still defaults to AI-sorted content, including curated recommendations for Reels and Stories. However, switching to the chronological feed harks back to Facebook circa 2008, prior to the shift from chronological post displays to popularity-based filtering. This shift significantly affected social media discourse, emphasizing the potential influence of a humble news feed filled with friends’ unfiltered thoughts. In our hyperpolarized society, this content revolution might just be what we need.
An ‘AI off’ switch could create even more waves on TikTok, where the pull of its content selection algorithm has fueled viral trends and driven the platform’s popularity. Yet, opting out of AI-generated selections demands users take the initiative since regulations merely require platforms to offer a non-profiling choice. The uptake of these new non-personalized feeds on TikTok remains uncertain.
Users might discover that much of the shared content can be quite mundane outside the AI-driven bubble. Digital-native influencers might recoil at the thought of diminished engagement. Conversely, users fatigued by influencer chatter might find relief in simply toggling off distractions.
The user empowerment granted by these mainstream platform changes may not result in an earth-shattering transformation immediately. However, we should celebrate our newfound ability to disengage from algorithmic control—it’s long overdue.
This shift represents the beginning of unbundling platform power. The DSA and its companion regulation, the Digital Markets Act, demand robust accountability from dominant digital platforms. These regulations require platforms to identify and address systemic risks from AI usage and to make their data accessible to academic research—two critical steps toward thoughtful oversight of tech giants.
Such visibility into corporate practices has long been overdue. The information gap exploited by adtech companies for profit at user expense has always been profoundly unjust.
Now, it’s time for these platforms to give back. It’s time for us to reclaim our free time from invasive content targeting systems. The trend of quietly opting out from algorithmic manipulation may just be the next big movement—though it might not be one that goes viral.
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