Meta faces first UK probe over Instagram safety risks

Meta faces a new test in the UK after the country’s media regulator opened an inquiry into Instagram’s Instants feature. The UK probe will examine whether the company checked the risks to users, especially children, before the tool went live in May.

Ofcom questions safety checks before launch

As reported by The Indian Express, Ofcom opened its first formal investigation into Meta under the UK’s Online Safety Act on October 6. The regulator wants to find out whether Meta conducted a proper risk assessment before launching Instants. The feature allows users to send photos and videos through Instagram that disappear once they have been viewed.

Ofcom said major changes to online services must be checked for risk before they launch. It will look at two areas: the risk of illegal content and the risk of harm to children. The law also says firms has to update how they check their software before making a major change to how a service works.

The probe is not looking at Meta’s action as law breaking. Ofcom has opened an investigation to gather facts. The regulator has taken action under the same law in other cases, but this is its first formal investigation into Meta under the Act.

Meta says safety tools were built in

Meta says it took its legal duties seriously and checked the risks before the feature launched.
The company also said it had informed Ofcom about Instants several times before its launch and would cooperate with the regulator during the investigation.

The company points to several safety tools. Instants blocks reshares and forwarding, screenshots, has no public feed, and turns on Teen Account protections automatically. The feature is designed for photos and videos that vanish after being viewed. However, Ofcom’s inquiry will assess whether the steps taken before launch were enough under the law.

The key issue is not only whether safety settings exist, but whether Meta properly studied how the feature could be misused before users gained access to it. Disappearing content can offer more privacy, but it may also make harmful posts harder to review once they vanish. Ofcom will need to weigh the feature’s design and the checks that Meta says it carried out.

Meta faces possible fines and wider pressure

The UK’s Online Safety Act, passed in 2023, requires covered platforms to assess and reduce the risk of illegal content. Services likely to be used by children must also assess risks to users under 18. If Ofcom identifies a breach, it can impose a fine of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever amount is higher.

Meta, TikTok and X have also pushed back against some of Ofcom’s wider information demands under the law. That separate dispute concerns over how much data the regulator wants from the firms. It does not decide the Instants case, but it shows the wider tension between tech companies and UK safety rules.

Author’s Opinion

The probe is a reminder that safety needs to be part of a feature from day one. Disappearing photos may feel private, but platforms must show that they have thought through how children could be harmed before rolling out new tools.

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