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Meta, TikTok and X are challenging the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom over the amount of information it is demanding from the social media companies under the country’s new online safety regime. The legal challenge is among the first major disputes linked to the 2023 Online Safety Act, which gives Ofcom broader powers to regulate platforms and requires them to take steps to protect users, particularly children, from harmful and illegal content.
The dispute centres on information notices issued by Ofcom in February. The regulator requested detailed data on content moderation, including how many posts were removed or had their visibility restricted and how many users were exposed to harmful material. The companies argue that complying with the requests would create an excessive regulatory burden.
Meta, TikTok and X have challenged the scope of Ofcom’s demands in court. X described the request as the most burdensome information request it has received from a regulator in any jurisdiction, according to a witness statement cited by Reuters.
Meta has argued that Ofcom is seeking wide-ranging and highly detailed information across seven of its services without clearly explaining the regulatory purpose behind the request. TikTok has also challenged the regulator’s approach, saying Ofcom bypassed another monitoring framework that already contains specific safeguards.
Ofcom has defended its information requests, saying the data is necessary to assess whether the new online safety regime is working as intended. The regulator also said it had reduced the scope of the information it sought before the requests were implemented.
The watchdog has been gradually putting the Online Safety Act into effect, giving it powers to demand information from regulated services and investigate potential breaches. The most serious violations can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover, increasing the stakes for large technology platforms.
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The dispute highlights the tension between stronger online safety regulation and the compliance burden placed on large technology companies. Ofcom said Parliament has tasked it with regulating an industry that had operated with limited oversight for more than two decades.
The current hearing is scheduled to continue through Wednesday. The case could help establish how far Ofcom can go when demanding detailed operational data from platforms under the Online Safety Act. A separate legal challenge by Meta concerning the calculation of Ofcom’s fees and penalties is also expected to be heard the following week.
