U.K.'s Ofcom gets power to penalize illegal digital content

Britain’s Office of Communications on Monday gained the power to enforce new content restrictions against tech companies, including social media. The illegal content provisions of the Online Safety Act, passed in 2023, took effect Monday. Under the law, Ofcom can require social media companies to remove material including child abuse, terrorism, hate crimes, and fraud.

How can the agency punish offending companies? Ofcom can fine companies up to about $23 million or 10% of their qualifying global profits, whichever is greater, for failing to quickly detect and remove illegal content. The regulatory body can also seek a court order to block payment services or advertisers from the offending sites or even to disable websites completely in the U.K. 

However, the law only requires companies to remove such content if it’s technically feasible to do so. Ofcom plans to evaluate tech firms’ claims about the extent of possible enforcement using a risk assessment survey that the companies had to complete by Sunday.

Will there be a downside, or tradeoff for freedom, with the power to penalize content? American Vice President J.D. Vance recently argued that the law infringed on free speech during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He also said the law would affect U.S. tech companies and citizens. Starmer told Vance that the U.K. had a strong legacy of free speech and that he wanted to avoid interfering with Americans. Starmer later said the Online Safety Act is intended to stop pedophiles and terrorists, not censor speech.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has also raised concerns about the Online Safety Act, saying the law’s unclear definition of hate speech could hurt Americans’ free expression and religious liberty online.