The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has launched an investigation into Meta to determine whether the company breached its obligations under the UK Online Safety Act by rolling out the "Instants" feature on Instagram.
The Instants feature, launched on Instagram last May, allows users to take instant photos and share them with their close friends; images that disappear after being viewed. When introducing the feature, Meta described it as a new way to share photos in the moment.
However, Ofcom is now examining whether Meta undertook an adequate assessment of the potential risks before launching this feature. Under the UK Online Safety Act, platforms subject to the law must identify and assess risks related to illegal content and child safety before offering certain features.
Ofcom's investigation focuses on child safety and illegal content
Ofcom has said that in this investigation it will examine whether Meta carried out an "appropriate and comprehensive assessment" of risks related to illegal content and risks to child safety prior to launching Instants.
The importance of the matter stems from the nature of the new feature. Instants enables sending private images to a limited group of friends and the images disappear after being viewed. Ofcom now wants to establish whether Meta, when designing and releasing this feature, considered all potential risks arising from how it might be used in its assessments.
The UK Online Safety Act requires online platforms, including Meta, to conduct risk assessments of their services and to update those assessments if circumstances change or new features are added.
The purpose of these requirements is to ensure that tech companies take necessary measures to tackle illegal content and mitigate risks to users, especially children.
Meta: we carried out multiple risk assessments
In response to Ofcom's investigation, Meta has emphasized that it takes its regulatory obligations under the UK Online Safety Act seriously.
A company spokesperson said Meta conducted multiple risk assessments before releasing Instants and has provided details of these assessments to Ofcom. The company also said it will cooperate with the UK regulator during the investigation.
Ofcom must now determine whether the assessments carried out by Meta met the legal requirements. The outcome of this inquiry could clarify whether the company properly fulfilled its duties to assess risks when launching the new feature.
The case also demonstrates that the UK Online Safety Act's requirements are not limited to content posted on platforms and that the design and rollout of new features can also come under regulatory scrutiny.