- Meta has launched a new legal challenge against UK regulator Ofcom.
- The dispute concerns additional regulatory obligations affecting WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Meta says it is challenging Ofcom’s interpretation and implementation of the law, not the Online Safety Act itself.
- The company is also challenging Ofcom’s method of calculating regulatory fees.
- Other technology companies, including TikTok and X, are involved in separate disputes with the regulator.
- The UK government has indicated that further internet regulation could be introduced.
Meta has opened another legal battle with the UK’s communications regulator over the way the Online Safety Act is being applied to its platforms. Lawyers for the company served notice of an appeal during the week against an Ofcom decision concerning WhatsApp and Instagram. The decision places the two services in a regulatory category with additional obligations. The case adds to growing tensions between Ofcom and major technology companies over Britain’s new online safety framework.
The additional duties include requirements for greater transparency and stronger controls for users. Platforms covered by the category must also take steps aimed at protecting people from fraudulent advertising. They face further obligations relating to the recording and reporting of illegal content. Meta is disputing particular aspects of those requirements and how Ofcom has interpreted them.
Meta said its legal action should not be viewed as an attempt to remove the Online Safety Act. The company said other technology firms, including TikTok, Roblox, X and Quora, are also challenging particular parts of the regulator’s implementation of the legislation. Meta argues that the court process is intended to clarify how the new rules should operate. It says the disputes concern the process, scope and implementation of the framework.
The latest appeal follows a separate legal challenge launched by Meta in May. That case concerns the way Ofcom calculates the fees paid by companies regulated under the Online Safety Act. Meta has questioned the regulator’s methodology, including its use of worldwide revenue when determining how much companies should pay.
Ofcom is using charges imposed on companies covered by the regime to help finance its online safety regulatory work. The Online Safety Act also gives the regulator significant enforcement powers when companies fail to meet their legal responsibilities. Serious breaches can result in fines of up to 10 per cent of qualifying worldwide revenue or £18 million, whichever is higher. The financial consequences have increased the importance of disputes over how the rules are interpreted and enforced.
Meta’s disputes are part of a broader pattern involving major online services operating in the UK. TikTok and X are among companies involved in separate legal proceedings concerning information they have been asked to provide to Ofcom. The regulator requires information from technology companies as part of its efforts to assess whether platforms are complying with their obligations. Some companies have challenged particular requests and decisions through the courts.
Ofcom’s online safety division has acknowledged that the regulatory environment has become increasingly litigious. Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom’s Group Director for Online Safety, discussed the issue before a House of Lords committee on Tuesday. He said the regulator had to balance its efforts to enforce the legislation with the legal risks created by its decisions.
Griffiths told peers that Ofcom could face significant legal consequences if it took unnecessary risks in pursuing information from companies. His comments highlighted the difficulty of enforcing a new regulatory system while dealing with technology companies that have substantial legal resources. Ofcom maintains that it is working to implement Parliament’s requirements while managing those risks.
The disputes come as Britain introduces a wide-ranging regulatory framework covering social media companies, search engines and other online services. The Online Safety Act gives Ofcom powers to impose duties designed to tackle illegal content and address specified online harms. Some requirements place particular emphasis on protecting children from harmful material.
Ofcom has been introducing the requirements in stages as the regulatory regime develops. Technology companies have responded by seeking clarification and, in some cases, challenging specific decisions in court. Meta’s position is that legal proceedings can help establish how the new system should work in practice.
The company argues that the courts can provide clarity over how the regulations are applied across different services. It also says the rules should be implemented proportionately and consistently. The outcome of the various disputes could therefore help shape how the UK’s online safety framework is applied to major technology platforms.
The legal disputes are taking place alongside signals from the British government that internet regulation could expand further. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government intended to continue bringing forward legislation covering the online environment. Her comments suggest that the regulatory framework could continue to evolve as technology changes.
Nandy said technological developments were happening quickly and that legislation would need to be updated regularly. She also indicated that the government would take a more active approach to regulating the internet. The comments come at a time when companies are still adjusting to the requirements introduced under the Online Safety Act.
For Meta, the latest appeal represents another attempt to challenge specific regulatory decisions made under the new framework. For Ofcom, the cases form part of the legal and practical challenges involved in establishing Britain’s new online safety regime. The courts will ultimately determine the disputed points raised by the company and the regulator.
