The British regulator Ofcom has begun an investigation into Meta, the parent company of Instagram, over concerns that it launched a new feature called Instants without properly assessing the risks to children and the potential for illegal content. Meta claims it did conduct the assessment and informed Ofcom before the feature was released. George Lusty, director of rule enforcement at Ofcom, compared the situation to launching a new car without testing it, emphasizing that online services should be similarly scrutinized. If Ofcom finds a violation, Meta could face a fine of up to 18 million pounds or 10% of its global revenue. Ofcom has long been aware of the risks associated with disappearing messages, as highlighted in its risk assessment guide published in December 2024. The guide identifies direct messaging, including ephemeral messages, as a risk factor for user exchanges. Between April 2023 and March 2024, 7,062 offenses of sexual communication with a child were recorded by 45 police forces in the UK, according to the NSPCC, a child protection organization. Nearly half of these cases involved messages sent via Snapchat, which also uses disappearing messages. A 13-year-old girl from the NSPCC’s youth panel said that the feature makes it easier to hide inappropriate behavior. With Instants, the sending process is even faster. Photos are sent immediately upon being taken, without a confirmation screen, and users can only cancel the send before the recipient opens the message. While Meta blocks screenshots, it is possible to bypass this protection using a second phone, as the photos disappear for users but are stored by Meta. Instagram has removed end-to-end encryption from private messages to help detect illegal content, such as child pornography. Since Instants images go through this messaging system, the company has the technical ability to review the exchanged photos. Meta said it conducted a risk analysis and informed Ofcom multiple times before launching Instants, including adding enhanced protections for younger users. Ofcom will need to determine whether this analysis considered the instant sending feature and the potential for bypassing the protections using a second device. In Europe, Instagram is required to assess the risks of new features under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates that very large online platforms evaluate their services annually and before launching features that could significantly affect these risks. TikTok faced consequences for failing to follow this rule, as Brussels launched a formal procedure in April 2024 over the lack of a prior risk assessment for a reward program. The European Commission later required TikTok to permanently remove the program from the EU. Meta is also under scrutiny in Brussels. At the end of April, the European Commission found that the company did not sufficiently protect children under 13 on Instagram and Facebook. Between 10 and 12% of children in this age group in Europe use one of the platforms, but Meta did not consider this in its risk assessment. The company could face fines of up to 6% of its annual global revenue in this matter. In the UK, Ofcom investigators are now gathering evidence. If they find a violation, Meta will first receive a provisional decision, which it can challenge before a final ruling is made.