Ofcom Issues £520,000 Fine to 4Chan for Online Safety Act Breaches
The UK online safety regulator, Ofcom, has imposed a total fine of £520,000 on the US messaging platform 4Chan for failing to comply with multiple provisions of the Online Safety Act.
The largest portion of the fine, £450,000, relates to 4Chan's failure to implement age verification measures designed to prevent children from accessing pornography on the site.
In response to the fine, 4Chan's legal representative submitted an AI-generated cartoon image of a hamster, signaling the company's refusal to pay the penalty. This image was used as a form of mockery toward the regulator.
Following this, 4Chan's lawyer Preston Byrne posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"In the only country in which 4chan operates, the United States, it is breaking no law and indeed its conduct is expressly protected by the First Amendment."
The remaining fines include £50,000 for failing to conduct a risk assessment regarding illegal content publication and £20,000 for not outlining measures to protect users from criminal content.
Historically, 4Chan has declined to pay any previous fines issued by Ofcom.
Ofcom's Response and Enforcement Stance
In reply to the BBC's request for comment on Byrne's statements, Suzanne Cater, Ofcom's director of enforcement, issued the following statement:
"Companies – wherever they're based – are not allowed to sell unsafe toys to children in the UK. And society has long protected youngsters from things like alcohol, smoking and gambling. The digital world should be no different."
"The UK is setting new standards for online safety. Age checks and risk assessments are cornerstones of our laws, and we'll take robust enforcement action against firms that fall short."
Ofcom did not provide any comment regarding the AI-generated hamster image posted by 4Chan in response to the fine.
US Government's Position on Foreign Tech Regulation
In February 2025, Vice President JD Vance addressed an audience of world leaders at the AI Summit in Paris, expressing frustration with foreign governments attempting to regulate American technology companies. He stated that the administration was "growing tired" of such regulatory efforts.
Background on 4Chan and Ofcom's Enforcement Actions
4Chan is recognized as an anarchic messaging platform and has been involved in numerous online controversies since its launch 22 years ago.
Ofcom has levied nearly £3 million in fines against technology companies worldwide for violations of the UK's online safety legislation. However, it remains unclear how much of this amount has been collected.
In December, Ofcom informed the BBC that it had never received any communication from the operator of 18 pornographic websites it fined £1 million, although that company subsequently implemented age verification on its platforms.
Last month, Pornhub restricted access to its website within the UK, citing the introduction of stricter age verification requirements. The company reported a 77% decline in traffic following these changes.
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