{
  "id": 17811151,
  "title": "Tech giants face tougher Ofcom demands after High Court ruling",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/tech-giants-face-tougher-ofcom-demands-after-high-court-ruling",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-02T14:00:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/tech-giants-face-tougher-ofcom-demands-after-high-court-ruling/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meta, TikTok and X will find it more challenging to resist Ofcom's demands for online safety data following a High Court ruling that the tech giants must provide detailed evidence of compliance costs when challenging the regulator's requests. The judgment, issued on Friday, strengthens Ofcom's ability to demand information from social media platforms even before deciding on further regulatory action. This ruling stems from an unsuccessful legal challenge by Meta, WhatsApp, X and TikTok against notices that required them to share historical data on user activity, harmful content, and moderation practices from January 2024. The court emphasized that mere assertions that less burdensome notices could be issued without undermining their usefulness are not sufficient. The judges ruled that Ofcom can gather information necessary for future regulatory decisions without first determining a specific investigation or proposed rule change. They also found that the companies failed to demonstrate the additional resources required to comply with the notices, separate from the costs they would incur under their existing obligations. Consequently, the notices remain in place, though Ofcom must ensure that future requests are proportionate to their intended purpose. This decision marks the first judicial review of Ofcom's information-gathering powers under the Online Safety Act, which allows the watchdog to fine non-compliant companies up to £18 million or 10% of their global annual turnover, whichever is higher.",
  "summary": "Meta, Tiktok and X will face a tougher battle resisting Ofcom’s demands for online safety data after the High Court ruled that tech giants must provide detailed evidence of compliance costs in order to challenge the regulator’s requests. The judgment, handed down on Friday, strengthens Ofcom’s ability to demand information from social media platforms even [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}