Meta, TikTok and X are challenging Ofcom over the volume of information the British regulator is demanding under the country’s online safety regime, in a hearing that opened in London and concludes Wednesday. The case is one of the first challenges under the 2023 Online Safety Act, which imposes tougher standards on large platforms to protect children from harmful and illegal content, with fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover for the most serious breaches.
The dispute centers on information notices Ofcom issued in February requesting granular content-moderation metrics, including how many posts were removed or had visibility restricted and how many users were exposed to harmful content. The companies argue the notices impose unprecedented regulatory burdens; a witness statement submitted by X called it the most burdensome information request X has received from any regulator in any jurisdiction. Meta said in court filings that Ofcom demanded wide-ranging and granular information about seven of its services for no clearly defined regulatory purpose, while TikTok said the regulator circumvented an alternative monitoring regime that had specific safeguards.
Ofcom said the information is genuinely needed to evaluate whether the new regime is working and that it narrowed the scope before implementation. A spokesperson said Parliament had charged the regulator with overseeing an industry unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years. A separate Meta challenge over how Ofcom calculates fees and penalties is expected next week, meaning the platform’s legal confrontation with the regulator is broadening rather than narrowing. For Meta in particular, the fee methodology fight has direct P&L relevance on top of the compliance burden.