UK fines 4Chan £20,000 over Online Safety Act information requests as enforcement tightens

March 19, 2026

The United Kingdom’s telecoms regulator Ofcom has imposed a £20,000 fine on 4Chan for not complying with legally-binding information requests tied to ongoing Online Safety Act investigations into the platform’s global revenue and its assessment of illegal harms.

From tomorrow, 4Chan will face a daily penalty of £100 for up to 60 days or until it provides the requested information, with a maximum potential charge of £6,000. Ofcom enforcement director Suzanne Cater said the move signals that platforms failing to cooperate with Ofcom will face robust enforcement under the OSA. The investigation remains active, and these interim fines sit well below the statutory ceiling of £18 million that can be imposed under the act.

Ofcom began the probe into 4Chan in June after complaints about the platform’s potential for illegal content and activity. In August, 4Chan countered by filing a federal lawsuit against the UK government, arguing that Ofcom is attempting to apply British law to a U.S.-based company.

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