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5Rights to give evidence in landmark Meta case in the UK
5Rights Foundation has been granted permission to intervene in the judicial review challenge by Meta against Ofcom’s enforcement of the UK Online Safety Act.
5Rights Foundation has been granted permission to intervene in the judicial review challenge by Meta against Ofcom’s enforcement regulations under the UK Online Safety Act.
At the heart of the case is the amount firms like Meta would be liable to pay for a breach of the Online Safety Act. Meta is challenging that tech companies could be on the hook for as much as 10% of their global revenue and argues any fine should be based solely on UK earnings. Last year, Meta’s global revenue exceeded $200bn.
Ofcom contends that the regulations are based on a plain reading of the law and that it acted within the powers conferred to it by the Online Safety Act. 5Rights has submitted evidence in support of Ofcom’s position, highlighting the importance of robust enforcement measures to address online harms, particularly those affecting children and that a global reach was Parliament’s original intention when passing the Online Safety Act to ensure effective regulation of an inherently global industry.
The substantive hearing is scheduled for October 2026.
Ofcom’s main argument is that they based their regulations on a plain reading of the law (the Online Safety Act), intention of Parliament is more our main argument, which is why I moved the sentence down but the last sentence is probably too long now.
Alina Fazekas-Seel, Head of Legal Compliance at 5Rights Foundation said,
“Effective regulation depends not only on clear duties, but also on credible enforcement. Parliament intended the Online Safety Act to give Ofcom meaningful powers to hold companies accountable where they fail to meet their responsibilities.
“Our intervention assists the Court on the purpose of the legislation and why robust enforcement matters. Where serious harms persist, particularly those affecting children, regulators must have the tools necessary to ensure compliance and create effective deterrence.”
