High Court rules Ofcom has the power to demand information from tech companies

Meta, TikTok, and X have lost a legal challenge at the High Court in London against Ofcom, regarding information notices issued under the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) to obtain retroactive user safety data from technology companies.

Ofcom initially issued the information notices in February, ordering the platforms to supply detailed granular data about content moderation and user exposure to harmful online material. The technology firms jointly challenged the demands, arguing that the media watchdog had acted unlawfully by bypassing the statutory transparency framework set out within the legislation.

In the first judicial review of Ofcom's supervisory powers under the OSA, Lord Justice Singh and Mrs Justice Collins Rice ruled that the regulator's information-gathering powers serve a distinct statutory purpose. The court also held that issuing individual notices did not meet the legal threshold requiring a comprehensive impact assessment.

In a statement welcoming the news, Ofcom said that gathering information from online platforms is vital to monitoring industry compliance and enforcing the OSA in the UK.

Training Announcement: Find out more about our range of independent accredited qualifications from BCS and IAPP. These include professional certifications for practitioners covering data protection and AI governance, information security and risk management, along with access to public information.