Meta Escalates Legal Fight With Ofcom Over Online Safety Act
The Guardian reported on Sunday that Meta's lawyers have contested the regulator's decision to classify WhatsApp and Instagram under a tier of the Act that carries extra obligations. Platforms in this category must meet tougher transparency standards, offer users more control over their experience, and take stronger action against fraudulent ads and illegal content.
This is not Meta's first run-in with Ofcom. Back in May, the company disputed the formula the regulator uses to calculate fees, contending that charges shouldn't be tied to a firm's total global revenue.
The stakes are steep: under the Online Safety Act, non-compliant companies risk penalties of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, or £18 million ($24 million) — whichever figure is larger.
Meta isn't alone in pushing back. Both TikTok and X have separately launched legal action over the scope of information Ofcom is demanding from them, adding to a mounting pile of disputes facing the regulator.
Speaking before a House of Lords committee, Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's group director for online safety, acknowledged the mounting pressure, stating the regulator was "operating in a highly litigious environment." He added that while Ofcom intends to enforce the law effectively, it could face serious legal fallout if it took "unnecessary risks."
For its part, Meta sought to frame its actions as procedural rather than adversarial. The company said its challenges were "not challenges to the law itself, but how Ofcom has interpreted it," characterizing this kind of pushback as a routine part of standing up a new regulatory framework — one that ultimately helps ensure the law is applied "proportionately, accurately and consistently."
The UK government, meanwhile, signaled no retreat from its regulatory agenda, saying it would continue introducing legislation to govern the internet as technology continues to evolve.
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