Meta, TikTok, X challenge UK watchdog over online safety data demands

Add ARY News on GoogleFollow on Google DiscoverThe logo of Meta is seen at the entrance of the company's temporary stand ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 18, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File PhotoAAResizeLONDON: Meta, TikTok and X are challenging British regulator Ofcom over the amount of information it is demanding they provide under Britain’s ​nascent online safety regime.

The challenge is one of the first ‌in relation to the 2023 Online Safety Act, which sets tougher standards for platforms such as TikTok, X and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram with the aim to ​protect children from harmful and illegal content.

Ofcom has been gradually implementing ​the regime, with its requirements backed up by the threat ⁠of fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover ​for the most serious breaches.

In February, it issued information notices requesting detailed ​content moderation metrics from the tech companies, including data on how many posts were removed or had visibility restricted, and how many users were exposed to harmful content.

But ​Meta, TikTok and X say the notices create unprecedented regulatory burdens, with ​one witness statement submitted by X describing it as “the most burdensome information request X ‌has ⁠received from any regulator in any jurisdiction”.

Meta said in court filings that Ofcom wanted it to provide “wide-ranging and granular information” about seven of its services for no clearly defined regulatory purpose.

TikTok also said that Ofcom had ​circumvented an alternative ​monitoring regime with ⁠specific safeguards in place.

Ofcom said the information was genuinely needed to evaluate whether the new regime was working ​and it had narrowed the scope of information it ​required before ⁠implementation.

“Parliament has charged us with the job of regulating an industry that has been unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years,” an Ofcom spokesperson ⁠said ​in a statement.

This week’s hearing concludes on ​Wednesday, with a separate legal challenge brought by Meta over how fees and penalties are calculated expected ​next week.

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has revised the petrol price and diesel rate for one day, ARY News reported. According to the OGRA notification, the petrol price has been increased by 88 paisas per litre, while the diesel rate has been reduced by Rs1.88 per litre. Following the revision, the new petrol […]