Social Rocket
Meta, TikTok and X are fighting extensive data demands from the UK media and online regulator Ofcom in court. At the centre are information notices from February 2026, with which the authority requires detailed metrics on content moderation under the British Online Safety Act.
What data Ofcom wants from the platforms
According to Reuters, Ofcom is asking, among other things, how many posts were removed or had their visibility restricted, and how many users were potentially exposed to harmful content.
The three companies consider the scope of the requests excessive. In a witness statement cited by Reuters, X described the request as the most burdensome regulatory information demand the company has received in any country so far. Meta criticises the broad and highly detailed request covering seven services. TikTok argues that Ofcom bypassed an alternative monitoring mechanism with its own safeguards.
Ofcom counters that the data is needed to assess whether the new online safety regime is actually working. The regulator also points out that it has already reduced the scope of the requests.
Online Safety Act increases pressure on platforms
The UK Online Safety Act of 2023 obliges large platforms to take more extensive protection and risk-mitigation measures. For serious breaches, Ofcom can impose fines of up to 10 percent of global turnover.
The current dispute is therefore more than an argument about reporting effort. It touches on how detailed platforms must disclose their moderation systems to regulators and how measurable actual exposure to problematic content should be.
The conflict fits into a broader regulatory trend. In Europe and other markets, age limits and youth protection for social media are being discussed with increasing stringency. Australia is taking a different route with a planned opt-out from algorithmic feeds. At the same time, international surveys show growing scepticism about the social consequences of social platforms, as our summary of the Pew study on social media and democracy shows.
What this means for social media marketing
For advertisers, these proceedings initially change no campaign settings. Over the long term, such proceedings remain relevant, because stricter regulatory reporting obligations can affect platform reports, moderation processes and the availability of certain audience or safety data.
According to Reuters, the hearing on the information demands is set to end on 7 October 2026. A separate Meta challenge concerning the calculation of fees and possible penalties is also expected the following week.