Meta launched Instagram Instants—a feature that lets users share content that disappears after viewing—without bothering to assess whether it would harm anyone. Ofcom is now investigating because apparently ‘ship it and find out’ is not a regulatory compliance strategy, despite Meta’s decades of evidence suggesting otherwise.
The feature itself is unremarkable: ephemeral content, seen before, executed competently enough. What’s remarkable is that Meta released it into the wild without a risk assessment. Not a half-assed risk assessment. Not a risk assessment written by an intern who was also managing three other projects. No assessment at all.
Why would a company with a documented history of not caring about harm until regulators force them to care suddenly start caring? They wouldn’t. Instants launched, users started using it, and only then did anyone ask whether minors might use it to share things they shouldn’t, or whether predators might appreciate a feature specifically designed to leave no trace.
Ofcom’s investigation is the regulatory equivalent of closing the barn door after the horses have set up a small business selling hay. Meta will probably be fined something between ‘pocket lint’ and ‘one percent of quarterly profit.’ The feature will remain. Users will adapt. Another investigation will begin in 2028.
This is not a failure of process. This is the process working exactly as designed—for Meta’s benefit, not yours.