Regulators in the United Kingdom have launched a formal investigation into Meta’s compliance with the Online Safety Act, focusing on the company’s launch of a new Instagram feature called Instants. The probe, initiated by Ofcom, centers on whether Meta adequately assessed the risks related to illegal content and child safety before rolling out the feature in May.
Instagram Instants is designed as a disappearing photo messaging service, allowing users to share images that vanish shortly after being viewed and disappear entirely within 24 hours. Meta has described it as a low-pressure way to share photos, highlighting built-in protections such as restrictions on screenshots, resharing, and forwarding, along with automatic safety settings for teenage accounts.
Ofcom’s investigation is the first into Meta since the Online Safety Act came fully into force last year. The regulator has expressed concerns that Meta may not have conducted a "suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment" as required under the legislation prior to the feature's launch. A spokesperson for Ofcom emphasized the importance of such risk assessments, likening them to necessary safety checks before launching products in other sectors.
Meta has contested some aspects of Ofcom’s approach, asserting it fulfilled its obligations by conducting risk analyses and briefing the regulator multiple times before introducing Instants. The company said it would cooperate with the investigation.
The inquiry comes amid broader tensions between tech companies and UK regulators over the enforcement of the Online Safety Act. Meta, along with platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, is actively challenging Ofcom’s powers, arguing that the regulator’s extensive information requests are overly burdensome and that the scope of data demanded is excessive. Meta’s current legal challenge seeks to overturn three information requests related to Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which the company claims would require it to produce more than 10,000 additional data items and create a large “bank of data.” A statement from X described Ofcom's demands as the most onerous it had faced from any regulator worldwide.
Ofcom has defended its information-gathering efforts, stating that Parliament mandated the regulator to oversee an industry that, until recently, operated with little accountability. In addition to the investigation into Instants, Meta is also contesting the fees charged by Ofcom to social media firms for administering the new regulatory framework.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over how to balance online safety, particularly for children, with the operational burdens placed on technology companies by evolving legal requirements. Meanwhile, figures such as former US President Donald Trump have criticized similar UK regulations, viewing them as censorship, a stance reportedly receiving support from some tech industry leaders. The outcome of these investigations and legal challenges may shape how social media platforms manage safety features and compliance with regulators moving forward.