"The biggest chunk of the amount came from 4chan's failure to ensure children cannot encounter pornographic content on its website by implementing an effective age check mechanism. For that violation, the website has received a penalty of £450,000 ($598,000) and an order to apply an age check system by April 2."
"Ofcom also found that 4chan has failed to carry out sufficient illegal content risk assessment on its website and has fined it £50,000 ($66,400) for that violation. 4chan has until April 2 to conduct a risk assessment, or it has to pay an additional £200 ($266) per day."
"The regulator started investigating 4chan, famous for its anonymous and unmoderated messaging boards, in June 2025 to determine if it was failing to meet its obligations under the law. In October, Ofcom announced its decision for some of the investigations it opened."
UK regulator Ofcom imposed a £520,000 fine on 4chan for violating the Online Safety Act 2023. The largest penalty of £450,000 stems from the website's failure to implement an effective age check system to prevent children from accessing pornographic content, with compliance required by April 2 and daily penalties of £500 until then. Additional fines include £50,000 for insufficient illegal content risk assessment and £20,000 for failing to include content protection provisions in terms of service. Each violation carries daily penalty rates ranging from £100 to £500 until compliance deadlines. Ofcom's investigation began in June 2025, with a previous £20,000 fine issued in October for non-compliance with information requests.
#online-safety-regulation #age-verification #content-moderation #regulatory-compliance #child-protection
Read at Engadget
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]