Britain’s communications regulator
said on Tuesday it has opened an investigation into whether Meta
Platforms breached UK online safety laws by failing to
properly assess risks posed by its Instagram Instants feature
before launching it in May.
Instants allows content shared by users in social media
platform Instagram to disappear after being viewed.
Ofcom said its formal investigation would establish if Meta
carried out a “suitable and sufficient” assessments into the
risk of illegal content in the feature or any possible risks
posed to children before launch.
George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: “Our
online safety laws are clear – significant changes to platforms
must be risk assessed before they’re launched.”
He said safety by design had to be built in and not bolted
on. “Today’s investigation shows we’ll take action where we have
concerns that providers are failing to comply,” he added.
Published on October 6, 2026
