IA

The story has been updated to include a comment from Meta and Ofcom.

On Friday, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), TikTok and X lost their legal challenge in London’s High Court against Ofcom over the British regulator’s requests for information under the Online Safety Act. This marks one of the first major legal tests of the U.K.’s newly introduced online safety framework.

UK Watchdog requested Data from Meta, TikTok and X

The case is among several legal challenges concerning provisions of the 2023 Online Safety Act, which imposes stricter requirements on platforms such as TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram to protect users, particularly children, from harmful and illegal content.

In February, the U.K. media watchdog sent information requests to Meta, TikTok and X seeking detailed data on their content moderation practices, including the number of posts removed or restricted in visibility and the number of users exposed to harmful content.

The High Court, presided over by Justice Singh and Justice Collins Rice, ruled in Ofcom’s favor in the first judicial review cases examining the regulator’s authority to issue information notices under the Online Safety Act 2023.

The court said the charges were brought by operators of some of the U.K.’s most widely used social media platforms, including TikTok, X and WhatsApp.

Meta, TikTok and X argued that the information requests imposed unprecedented regulatory demands. X said complying with what it called “the most burdensome information request X has received from any regulator” would cost the company millions of pounds, the report added.

“We’re disappointed with the court’s decision. We and others across industry pursued this challenge because information-gathering of this scale goes beyond what is necessary or proportionate,” said a Meta spokesperson in an emailed statement to Benzinga. The spokesperson added that the company was committed to working with Ofcom and is reviewing the judgement in full.

TikTok told Reuters that it was reviewing the court’s ruling.

An Ofcom spokesperson told Benzinga that the agency welcomed the court’s decision “to dismiss the challenges brought by Meta, X and TikTok against our efforts to gather information from them.” The spokesperson added that gathering information from companies “is fundamental to our ability to do our job of assessing compliance with their duties,” and it will continue to use its powers to create a safer life online for people in the U.K.

TikTok and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s (NASDAQ: SPCX) SpaceXAI, the parent of X, did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

Meta Faces More Legal Battles

Friday’s High Court ruling marked a victory for Ofcom, although a potentially more consequential decision is still pending in a separate case brought by Meta over the regulator’s method of calculating fees and potential fines.

Meta is also contesting Ofcom’s classification of WhatsApp under the new regulatory framework, the report noted. Earlier this month, Ofcom said the tech giant is facing a probe into whether Instagram’s new Instants feature received adequate safety checks before its launch.

New Mexico also asked a judge to order Meta to pay between $35 billion and $40 billion after a jury found the company misled Facebook users about data privacy, access and content policies.

In August, Meta reached an $18 billion settlement with U.S. states and territories to resolve allegations that Facebook and Instagram caused harm to children.

Price Action: Shares of Meta closed 1.53% lower at $614.99 on Friday, while the stock dipped 0.16% after hours. Year-to-date, Meta’s stock has declined about 6.83%, according to Benzinga Pro.

Image via Shutterstock