Meta and Tiktok lose High Court battle against Ofcom’s regulatory data demands

The High Court has upheld the media watchdog Ofcom s powers to harvest retroactive safety data from tech giants. In February, Ofcom issued formal information notices to major tech platforms, including Meta, Tiktok, and X, requiring them to share detailed data on content and user exposure to harmful material under the Online Safety Act. Meta, Tiktok, and X jointly challenged Ofcom with a judicial review case at London s High Court. The court rolled the platforms legal challenges into one case, in which they challenged the notices on several legal grounds, largely arguing the watchdog unlawfully circumvented the act s specific transparency framework. The Online Safety Act was designed to tackle the risks to users, including children, of encountering harmful content online. It provided Ofcom with extensive powers, including the ability to fine non-compliant platforms up to £18m or 10 per cent of their qualifying global annual turnover, whichever is higher. On Friday, the