Meta has launched another legal challenge against the UK’s online safety regulator Ofcom, this time disputing the decision to classify WhatsApp and Instagram as Category 1 services under the Online Safety Act.
The latest legal action adds to several ongoing disputes between Meta and Ofcom as the UK regulator continues to implement the country’s online safety rules.
Why Meta Is Challenging Ofcom
According to the Financial Times report cited in the information, Meta is challenging Ofcom’s decision to place WhatsApp and Instagram under the Category 1 classification.
Category 1 services are among the largest and most widely used online platforms. They face additional responsibilities under the Online Safety Act, including stronger transparency requirements, greater user controls, protections against illegal content and measures related to fraudulent advertising.
Meta argues that some of these requirements may not be suitable for private one-to-one and small-group messaging services such as WhatsApp.
Meta is not the only company challenging Ofcom’s classification decisions. Roblox and Quora are also appealing decisions related to their services.
Meta Has Other Disputes With Ofcom
The latest case is part of a wider disagreement between Meta and Ofcom.
Meta is also challenging Ofcom over regulatory fees and potential fines under the Online Safety Act. The company has argued that calculating fees using qualifying worldwide revenue could place a disproportionate financial burden on larger technology companies.
Meta, along with TikTok and X, has also challenged some information requests issued by Ofcom. The companies argue that certain requests may go beyond what is permitted or necessary under the law.
UK Officials Criticise Delays
The legal disputes have raised concerns among some UK officials about the pace of enforcement.
Former technology and digital economy minister Damian Collins said: “It’s clearly a deliberate strategy by Meta to frustrate and delay the implementation of the Online Safety Act. It is a form of lawfare to tie up the regulator. The law is clear and it is what parliament wanted.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also criticised the pace of enforcement, saying: “it has been incredibly slow… we want to see Ofcom enforcing the law more robustly and more quickly”.
Ofcom’s group director for online safety, Oliver Griffiths, said the regulator was “underwhelmed” by progress and was operating in a “highly litigious environment”.
Meta Responds to Ofcom Challenge
Meta said its legal action is not aimed at challenging the Online Safety Act itself.
A Meta spokesperson said: “Like many others in the industry, including Tik Tok, Roblox, X and Quora, we are challenging specific aspects of implementation.”
The spokesperson added: “These are not challenges to the law itself, but how Ofcom has interpreted it.”
Ofcom said it would defend its decisions. An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Parliament has charged us with the job of regulating an industry that has been unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years.”
Ofcom added: “On all these fronts, we will robustly defend our reasoning and decisions.”
The Online Safety Act came into force in stages from April 2025, with additional requirements continuing to be introduced. The latest legal disputes could determine how some of the rules are applied to major online platforms in the UK.
