UK probes Meta over risk assessment of Instagram Instants

Oct 6 : Britain's communications regulator said on Tuesday it has opened an investigation into whether Meta Platforms breached UK online safety laws by failing to properly assess risks posed by its Instagram Instants feature before launching it in May.

Instants allows content shared by users in social media platform Instagram to disappear after being viewed.

Ofcom said its formal investigation would establish if Meta carried out a "suitable and sufficient" assessments into the risk of illegal content in the feature or any possible risks posed to children before launch.

George Lusty, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: "Our online safety laws are clear – significant changes to platforms must be risk assessed before they're launched."

He said safety by design had to be built in and not bolted on. "Today’s investigation shows we'll take action where we have concerns that providers are failing to comply," he added.