Credit: kovop/Shutterstock Meta asked the High Court in London this week to limit how Ofcom calculates online safety fees and maximum fines, Courthouse News reported. The hearing ended late on Wednesday after a day and a half of arguments. It is about Ofcom’s use of worldwide revenue, not a specific fine. The Online Safety Act lets Ofcom fine a company up to 10% of its qualifying worldwide revenue or £18m, whichever is greater.
Ofcom also recovers the cost of running the regime through fees based on companies’ revenue. Meta took Ofcom to court over the calculation earlier this year. Meta’s case Meta argues that Ofcom read its powers too broadly when it defined qualifying worldwide revenue. It also challenges how Ofcom calculates fines when several services owned by one company are held jointly liable.
In court documents, Meta’s lawyer Monica Carss-Frisk called Ofcom’s approach “troubling”. She said it could lead to “companies such as Meta bearing the vast majority of Ofcom’s costs”, although the law covers many internet services in the UK. Meta said it was committed to cooperating with Ofcom. Fees and penalties should reflect the services regulated in the countries where they operate, the company argues.
A UK-based calculation would still let Ofcom impose substantial penalties, it said. Ofcom’s reply Ofcom says Meta is incorrect and that it “struck a careful balance”. The rules set the maximum possible fine, not the amount imposed, the regulator said in court filings. Its lawyer called Meta’s challenge to Ofcom’s expertise “outlandish”.
Outside court, an Ofcom spokesperson said the regulator would defend its reasoning and decisions. 5Rights Foundation, a children’s rights group, has permission to intervene on Ofcom’s side. “The Online Safety Act cannot be a paper tiger. Parliament intended it to provide a strong deterrent.” Leanda Barrington-Leach, executive director of 5Rights Foundation What an expert said Meta’s broadest challenge would be hard to sustain, Alexandros Antoniou, a senior lecturer in media law at the University of Essex, told Courthouse News. “Parliament gave Ofcom a long measuring tape.” Alexandros Antoniou, University of Essex, to Courthouse News But Antoniou said Meta has a case on how Ofcom defines the revenue it can count. Meta recently joined TikTok and X in a separate challenge over how much information Ofcom can demand. Ofcom is also investigating Instagram Instants.
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