UK court rejects Meta, TikTok and X bid to block Ofcom data demands

Court rejects platforms' challenge

The High Court dismissed a legal challenge by Meta, TikTok and X against Ofcom, the UK's online safety regulator, over the data it can demand from social media platforms. In a written judgment issued on Friday, 30 October 2026, two judges sided with the regulator and refused to quash the information notices. The companies must now provide data on total user activity, on the volume of content and accounts subject to moderation, and on how often users, including children, are exposed to content that was actioned. They must also disclose the outcomes and timing of appeals against moderation decisions, as well as the volume and results of reports filed by UK users. The judges said the platforms had not sufficiently explained why compliance would be onerous, and they rejected the claim that the notices were irrational.

Objections raised at the hearing

At a hearing earlier this month, lawyers for the companies called the requests unlawful and the most burdensome they had ever received. They argued that gathering the figures would cost millions of pounds. Meta objected that Ofcom wanted wide-ranging figures from seven of its services without making clear what it planned to do with them. TikTok said the regulator had sidestepped a separate system for assessing platforms, which carries its own safeguards. Ofcom countered that it needed the information to judge whether the new rules were working, and said it had narrowed its requests before they took effect.

Background to the dispute

Ofcom sent the information requests to the platforms in February. The case is among the first legal challenges to the Online Safety Act, which became law in 2023 and made Ofcom the regulator of online safety. The law obliges platforms to protect users, particularly children, from illegal and harmful content, and penalties for serious breaches can reach 10% of worldwide turnover. The figures sought include takedowns and restrictions of posts, plus how many users come across harmful material. Meta is also contesting, in a separate case, how Ofcom calculates the fees charged under the Act, and the regulator has an open inquiry into Instagram Instants.

Competition probe into Meta's publisher terms

On Friday the UK Competition and Markets Authority opened an investigation into Meta's new commercial terms for publishers and advertisers. The new conditions would allow Meta to gather content from publisher websites to build and run its own products, including artificial intelligence services, without businesses being able to decide whether or how it is used. The CMA will examine whether Meta holds a dominant position and abuses it. Meta has suspended the entry into force of the new terms. The regulator said it is concerned that requiring publishers and other content firms to accept these conditions could amount to unfair trading terms imposed on thousands of British businesses that depend on Meta to reach customers and audiences.