4chan and Kiwi Farms sue British regulator Ofcom over age verification

American internet forums 4chan and Kiwi Farms have sued the United Kingdom’s communication services regulator Ofcom over the recently adopted Online Safety Act.

In June, Ofcom launched inquiries into 4chan and Kiwi Farms to determine whether they’re taking sufficient measures to protect users in the United Kingdom from illegal or harmful content posted on their forums.

4chan, however, refused to cooperate and failed to respond to the regulator’s requests for information on several occasions. This prompted Ofcom to impose a fine of £20,000 last week. Kiwi Farms is facing the same punishment.

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4chan and Kiwi Farms are now taking the offensive by suing Ofcom. They feel they don’t have to abide by the UK’s Online Safety Act, which they consider a “censorship law,” because they are based in the United States and don’t have any operations in the UK.

“This lawsuit seeks to restrain Ofcom’s conduct and its continuing egregious violations of Americans’ civil rights, including, without limitation, to the right of freedom of speech,” the plaintiffs say in court documents.

The internet forums are asking the court to ensure that Ofcom's requirements cannot be enforced in the United States and are contrary to US law. They also want the court to prohibit Ofcom from continuing to try to force the plaintiffs to comply with the Online Safety Act. Ofcom is aware of the lawsuit.

“Under the Online Safety Act, any service that has links with the UK now has duties to protect UK users, no matter where in the world it is based. The Act does not, however, require them to protect users based anywhere else in the world,” an Ofcom spokesperson told 404 Media.

On July 25th, 2025, the Online Safety Act went into effect in the UK. The legislation is designed to prevent minors from accessing websites that contain pornographic material and other harmful content.

The new legislation requires website owners and app developers to implement age verification systems and controls to check the age of their users. Ofcom has launched investigations against a few dozen platforms over the new age verification laws.

Websites that don’t comply can be fined up to £18 million or 10 percent of their annual global turnover, whichever is greater.