"Meta has filed for a judicial review of Ofcom's methodology for setting fees and penalties under the Online Safety Act, arguing that pegging charges to a company's qualifying worldwide revenue (QWR) is disproportionate and out of step with the geographic scope of the regulator's remit. A hearing has been scheduled for 13 and 14 October."
"Under the Act, Ofcom can levy fines of up to 10 per cent of QWR or £18m, whichever is higher. Given that Meta reported global revenues of roughly $201bn last year, the regulator could in theory issue a penalty of around $20bn, a sum that would dwarf the largest fines in UK corporate history. The fee regime introduced last September applies the same QWR principle to annual tariffs, capturing companies whose user-generated content, search or adult-content services in the UK generate more than £250m a year."
"Meta contends that liability should be determined by activity within the jurisdiction doing the regulating. "We and others in the tech industry believe its decisions on the methodology to calculate fees and potential fines are disproportionate," a company spokesperson said. "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.""
"Court documents filed on Meta's behalf by Monica Carss-Frisk KC describe Ofcom's approach as "troubling", warning that it would result in a handful of large platforms shouldering the bulk of the regulator's costs even though the Act covers a much broader sweep of internet services. The barrister noted that QWR is not pegged to revenue generated by any particular service in the UK;"
Meta has filed for judicial review of Ofcom’s methodology for setting fees and penalties under the Online Safety Act. The challenge targets the use of qualifying worldwide revenue (QWR) to determine charges, which Meta says is disproportionate and does not match the geographic scope of Ofcom’s regulatory remit. Ofcom can impose fines up to 10% of QWR or £18m, whichever is higher, and the same QWR principle applies to annual tariffs. Meta argues liability should be based on activity within the jurisdiction where regulation applies, rather than global revenue. Court documents describe Ofcom’s approach as troubling, warning it would concentrate regulator costs on a small number of large platforms despite the Act covering a wider range of internet services.
#online-safety-act #ofcom #judicial-review #qualifying-worldwide-revenue-qwr #regulatory-fees-and-penalties
Read at Business Matters
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]