[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-ofcom-investigates-meta-over-instagram-instants-safety-checks":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},10317,"ofcom-investigates-meta-over-instagram-instants-safety-checks","Ofcom investigates Meta over Instagram Instants safety checks","UK regulator wants to know if Meta checked the risks of disappearing Instagram posts before letting anyone use them.","Ofcom is investigating whether Meta skipped a required risk check before rolling out Instagram's disappearing-post feature, Instants.\n\nMeta launched Instants in May, letting Instagram users share posts that vanish once they've been seen, a format Snapchat popularized over a decade ago. Ofcom said Tuesday it has opened a formal investigation into whether Meta broke the UK's Online Safety Act by failing to assess the feature's risks before it went live. The regulator's focus is narrow: did Meta complete the legally required risk assessment first, not whether the feature has actually caused harm. Ofcom hasn't detailed what triggered the inquiry or given a timeline for a decision.\n\nThis is a test of whether the Online Safety Act's risk-assessment duties have teeth before a product ships, not just after something goes wrong. If Ofcom finds Meta skipped that step, it tells every platform that UK regulators will scrutinize feature launches in real time, not after the fact, which changes the calculus for rolling out new sharing tools.\n\nDisappearing posts are a decade-old idea Instagram borrowed from Snapchat long ago. The novelty here isn't the feature. It's that a regulator is finally asking whether anyone checked the paperwork before shipping it.","[\"ofcom\",\"meta\",\"instagram\",\"online safety act\"]","2026-10-06T10:16:57.000Z","2026-10-06T17:31:08.981Z","2026-10-06T17:31:13.795Z","published",null,[],"policy",[26,27,28,29],"ofcom","meta","instagram","online safety act",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fofcom-meta-instagram-instants-investigation",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,47,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",6348,"2026-10-06T10:48:08.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":44,"count":45,"latest_published_at":46},"Security","security",881,"2026-10-06T09:51:14.000Z",{"name":48,"slug":24,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy",466,"2026-10-06T10:31:52.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",383,"2026-10-06T11:15:20.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",212,"2026-10-06T11:04:25.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Science","science",183,"2026-10-06T09:48:46.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",162,"2026-10-06T09:00:14.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Software","software",105,"2026-10-06T10:27:47.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",99,"2026-10-05T10:47:06.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",96,"2026-10-05T20:24:09.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Gaming","gaming",54,"2026-10-05T19:07:04.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"General","general",53,"2026-10-05T22:05:42.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",33,"2026-10-05T11:57:17.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]