The UK just opened a formal investigation into Meta's disappearing-photo feature for potentially putting children at risk — while Congress sits silent and American kids get nothing but predatory design from Big Tech.
UK media regulator Ofcom announced Tuesday it is investigating whether Meta breached the country's Online Safety Act by failing to properly assess the risks of Instagram's "Instants" feature before launching it in May. The Snapchat-clone lets users share photos that vanish after one viewing — a design choice child safety advocates have warned for years enables exploitation and abuse. On this side of the Atlantic, Washington has produced nothing but hearings and hot air.
Ofcom's investigation will determine whether Meta carried out a "suitable and sufficient" assessment of two specific risks: illegal content appearing through Instants, and potential harm to children. Under the UK's Online Safety Act, platforms must assess and update risks before making significant changes to how their services work.
"Our online safety laws are clear — significant changes to platforms must be risk assessed before they're launched," George Lusty, Ofcom's director of enforcement, said in a statement. "You wouldn't launch a new car without testing it properly, and it's the same for online services."
Meta told Reuters it conducted a risk analysis and briefed Ofcom on multiple occasions before launch. A spokesperson said Instants has "in-built protections, including blocking screenshots, reshares and forwarding, no public feed, and Teen Account protections on automatically."
The Guardian — which framed the story around "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta" and its "$1.9tn" valuation — noted that the Molly Rose Foundation, established by the family of teenager Molly Russell who took her own life after viewing harmful content on Instagram, said it was "crucial that Meta was held to account for their failures under the Online Safety Act." PetaPixel and TNW did not mention the foundation.
If Ofcom finds a breach, it can fine Meta up to £18 million or 10% of its qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. Meta isn't taking it quietly. The company is challenging Ofcom in the High Court over how the regulator charges tech firms fees to cover its operating costs, and in a separate case, challenging its placement in a new regulatory category that subjects it to additional duties. Meta has also joined TikTok and Elon Musk's X in a court challenge over the volume of information Ofcom is demanding under the UK's online safety regime — a detail only The Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, back in America — where Instagram is headquartered and where the vast majority of its users live — Congress has done precisely nothing. No Online Safety Act equivalent. No formal investigation into Instants. No regulator demanding risk assessments before features go live. Members of both parties clutch pearls about child safety in hearings, then nothing happens. The bipartisan silence tells you everything about who writes the checks. Meta's lobbying operation in Washington is among the most well-funded in the tech industry, and the result is exactly what you'd expect: a Congress that talks tough and delivers nothing.
The UK may or may not get real answers from Meta. At least they're asking the questions. In Washington, the only thing disappearing faster than an Instagram Instant is congressional will to take on Big Tech.
