"Meta has filed a judicial review against Ofcom over the way the regulator calculates fees and penalties under the UK's Online Safety Act, the High Court was told on Thursday. The dispute is narrow on its surface and substantial underneath. Ofcom's methodology bills platforms based on what it calls qualifying worldwide revenue, the global income tied to a regulated service rather than just the UK slice. Fines work the same way and can reach 10% of that worldwide figure."
""We and others in the tech industry believe (Ofcom's) decisions on the methodology to calculate fees and potential fines are disproportionate, " a Meta spokesperson told reporters. "We believe fees and penalties should be based on the services being regulated in the countries they're being regulated in. This would still allow Ofcom to impose the largest fines in UK corporate history.""
"Ofcom said the framework was set out in the legislation Parliament passed and that it had consulted at length on how to apply it. "Disappointingly, Meta is objecting to the payment of fees, and any penalties that could be levied on companies in the future, that are calculated on this basis," the regulator said."
"The fees themselves are not large in Meta's terms. Ofcom has signalled the levy will fall between 0.02% and 0.03% of qualifying worldwide revenue, with a £250m revenue threshold for liability and a £10m UK-revenue floor below which providers are exempt. For Meta, that translates to a few tens of millions of pounds a year on a roughly $165bn revenue base. The penalty exposure is the larger number."
Meta has sought judicial review of Ofcom’s methodology for calculating fees and potential penalties under the UK Online Safety Act. Ofcom bases charges on qualifying worldwide revenue, meaning global income tied to a regulated service rather than only UK revenue. Fines follow the same approach and can reach 10% of the worldwide figure. Meta contends that any levy should reflect the country where the service is regulated, while still allowing Ofcom to impose the largest UK corporate fines. Ofcom says its framework is set by legislation passed by Parliament and that it consulted extensively on applying it. The dispute centers on proportionality and the revenue basis used for liability and penalties.
#uk-online-safety-act #ofcom-regulation #judicial-review #online-safety-compliance #tech-industry-fees-and-penalties
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