Meta sues Ofcom over fines regime for breaches of Online Safety Act
Meta has launched a legal challenge against the UK’s media regulator over the fees and fines regime it is enforcing under landmark digital safety legislation.The Facebook and Instagram owner is claiming that Ofcom’s methodology for calculating the charges is flawed and should not be based on a company’s global revenue.Breaches of the Online Safety Act can be punished by fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (QWR) or £18m – whichever is higher.In the case of Meta, which reported revenues of $201bn last year, Ofcom could in theory impose a fine of $20bn for breaches.Under regulations introduced in September, Ofcom’s fees will also be based on a proportion of an organisation’s QWR and apply to businesses that made more than £250m of this revenue a year.
Meta argues that fees and potential fines should be based on the country where the company is being regulated and is seeking a judicial review of Ofcom’s decision in the high court,“We and others in the tech industry believe its decisions on the methodology to calculate fees and potential fines are disproportionate,” said a Meta spokesperson,“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,”Monica Carss-Frisk KC, for the tech group, said in court documents that Ofcom’s approach was “troubling” and would lead to “companies such as Meta bearing the vast majority of Ofcom’s costs, despite the act making clear that it is concerned with a wide range of internet services offered in the UK”.
The barrister later said that QWR was not “pegged” to the revenue generated from a particular service in the UK, adding: “If a service is provided to UK users, then all of its revenue globally will count towards QWR.”A hearing related to Meta’s case is scheduled for 13-14 October.Ofcom said its fees and fines regime was based on a “plain reading of the law”, adding: “We will robustly defend our reasoning and decisions.”Meta is not the first US tech firm to take on Ofcom over the act, which has proved unpopular with Donald Trump’s White House.The US online forum 4chan has refused to pay fines related to the act and Ofcom has been sued by the companies behind the 4chan and Kiwi Farms websites.
Ofcom regulates the UK’s communications services,Beginning this year, it put in place a fee schedule in which certain online service providers – such as Meta – will be charged tariffs to cover its enforcement of the UK’s Online Safety Act,These fees apply to companies whose revenue comes from hosting user-generated content, search content, and pornography, and whose turnover from these services is roughly £250m or above,This fee regime was years in the making, and a “significant change”, for Ofcom, the regulator said,Since its implementation in March, it has meant that the majority of Ofcom’s funding would come from companies such as Meta, as opposed to license fees for radio bandwidth.
Ofcom’s revenue is set to be £233m this year, of which tariffs will be £164m,
BP plans to sell shares in flagship carbon projects as it pulls back from green agenda
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JD Sports says Iran war and youth unemployment to hit consumer spending
The sports fashion retailer JD has said that profits will fall this year amid a “muted market” hit by concerns about the Middle East conflict and weaker spending by young people facing rising unemployment.The company, which runs 4,800 stores worldwide including the JD, Blacks and Millets chains in the UK, said it expected profits of between £750m and £850m in the year ahead, after reporting £852m in the year to the end of January.Régis Schultz, the retail group’s chief executive, said its core youth market had been hit by rising unemployment, adding: “Those 10-30 hour contracts they do allow them to buy the sneakers they would love to have.”He said this was not just a UK problem, with sales to 14-18 year olds down by more than 10% across Europe, including the UK, according to industry data.JD said there had been “no material business impact to date” from the war in Iran, but the company warned that the conflict may end up pushing up costs and prices
Dawn airport drinkers call out Ryanair boss on proposal to ban ‘holiday ritual’
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Revealed: owner of former WH Smith stores is charging fee to use fictitious ‘family’ brand
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UK construction firms face some of sharpest cost rises in nearly 30 years
Construction companies in the UK are experiencing some of the sharpest cost rises in nearly 30 years as the war in Iran drives up prices for fuel and raw materials, according to a closely watched survey.The poll of UK construction companies found that input cost inflation – which accounts for expenses such as raw materials, energy and labour – rose last month to the highest level since June 2022 when there was a spike in commodity prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.April’s jump in purchasing prices was also one of the steepest since the survey began in 1997.The monthly purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for construction activity, considered one of the best indicators of growth in the sector, fell to 39.7 in April, the lowest level since last November and down from 45
Trains in southern England disrupted after fault in radio system
Trains in parts of southern England have been severely disrupted after a fault in a radio system.Services out of London Waterloo, one of Britain’s busiest railway stations, have been particularly delayed.A problem with the radio network preventing communication between drivers and signallers was reported towards the end of the morning rush hour, affecting the railway’s Wessex route connecting London with the south and south-west.The fault has now been fixed but disruption is expected to continue in places until the end of the day. A number of services have been cancelled, or delayed by up to an hour and a half
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Meta sues Ofcom over fines regime for breaches of Online Safety Act
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