UK regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into Meta over whether it properly assessed the safety risks of Instagram Instants, a Snapchat-style disappearing-photo feature, before launching it. The probe centers on potential breaches of the Online Safety Act, which carries fines of up to 10% of global revenue.
Ofcom is investigating whether Meta failed to carry out adequate risk checks on Instagram Instants before rolling out the feature, which lets users send images that disappear after viewing. The watchdog wants to determine whether the $1.9tn company assessed whether the product could expose users to illegal content or be accessed by children.
Risk assessment duty under the Online Safety Act
Social media firms must carry out risk assessments before making significant changes to a service's design or operation, under the UK's Online Safety Act. A breach can bring penalties ranging from a formal warning to a fine of up to 10% of global revenue.
George Lusty, Ofcom's director of enforcement, said risk assessments were a vital step in keeping platforms safe and that the regulator would act where it had compliance concerns. Meta said it had conducted a risk analysis of Instants and spoken with Ofcom several times before launch, adding the feature blocks forwarding and carries the same safeguards as its default teen account settings. According to the Guardian, a Meta spokesperson said: "We will of course cooperate with Ofcom during this investigation."
Part of a wider regulatory standoff
The Molly Rose Foundation, a charity set up by the family of Molly Russell, said it was crucial that Meta be held to account for its failures under the Online Safety Act. The new probe adds to an existing Ofcom investigation into whether Meta breached the law by failing to comply with an information request tied to WhatsApp.
Meta, in turn, is challenging Ofcom in the High Court over how the regulator charges tech firms fees for its operating costs, and separately over its decision to place WhatsApp and Instagram in a category subject to additional duties. The company has also joined TikTok and Elon Musk's X in a court challenge over the volume of information Ofcom is demanding from platforms under the online safety regime.
Source: Business | The Guardian
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