Overview
- Ofcom opened a formal investigation this week to determine whether Meta completed the illegal‑content and children’s risk assessments required before launching the Instants disappearing‑content feature in May.
- Meta says it carried out a risk analysis, briefed Ofcom several times before launch, and built Instants with protections such as blocking screenshots, disabling reshares and forwarding, no public feed, and automatic teen account limits.
- Meta is simultaneously contesting Ofcom’s February information demands in the High Court alongside TikTok and X, and Ofcom says that litigation has not affected the timing of the separate Instants probe.
- The Online Safety Act requires platforms to assess risks of significant changes before release and gives Ofcom powers to order fixes or impose fines of up to £18 million or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue.
- A finding against Meta would set a precedent that product launches—not just content after the fact—must be risk‑assessed beforehand and could change how firms design features and how easily users, especially children, can report or preserve harmful material.