Ofcom launches first Online Safety Act probe into Meta's Instagram Instants

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, opened its first formal probe under the Online Safety Act on Tuesday, focusing on Meta's Instagram Instants feature. Instants lets users share content that vanishes after it is viewed. Ofcom will check whether Meta carried out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of illegal content and child‑safety risks before the feature launched in May. George Lusty, Ofcom’s director of enforcement, said the law requires significant platform changes to be risk‑assessed in advance and that safety must be built into design, not added later. He warned the regulator will act if providers fail to comply. A Meta spokesperson said the company took its obligations seriously, had briefed Ofcom several times before launch, and highlighted built‑in protections such as screenshot blocking, no public feed, and automatic teen‑account safeguards. The spokesperson added Meta will cooperate fully with the investigation. Ofcom’s earlier Online Safety Act investigations have covered a suicide‑discussion forum, pornography sites, file‑sharing services used for child sexual abuse material, and platforms like 4chan. The regime obliges social media, search engines and adult‑content providers to tackle illegal material and protect children, requiring risk assessments, age‑verification and other safeguards. Non‑compliance can attract fines up to £18 million or 10 % of worldwide revenue, whichever is higher. Meta has previously challenged Ofcom over the act’s scope, fees and the amount of information it must supply, and faced a separate probe into its WhatsApp Business product under the Communications Act. ## Context The Online Safety Act is the UK’s main tool to force tech platforms to guard against illegal and harmful content, especially for minors. Ofcom enforces the law and can levy heavy fines if companies do not meet the required safety standards.