Overview

• 4chan and Kiwi Farms filed a U.S. federal lawsuit on Wednesday targeting Ofcom’s enforcement of the U.K.’s Online Safety Act and its mandatory age verification rules.
• The complaint argues the sites operate entirely in the United States with no U.K. presence and says Ofcom’s fines and blocking threats would restrict speech under U.S. law.
• Ofcom opened an investigation into 4chan in June and on Aug. 13 issued a provisional finding of noncompliance, triggering penalties of £20,000 per day, with Kiwi Farms also warned of fines.
• In a statement to Mashable, Ofcom said services with links to the U.K. have duties to protect U.K. users regardless of where they are based, while not imposing duties for users elsewhere.
• The lawsuit references potential penalties including an £18 million fine and even prison warnings under the Act, as critics such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation raise privacy and free-expression concerns about age checks.