Meta challenges Ofcom in court for ‘acting irrationally’ in fine and fee pricing

Meta has challenged the UK regulator in court over how it calculates fees and fines under the UK s online safety law, as it argued the methods are disproportionate and unlawful. The tech giant has questioned the media regulator, Ofcom, over its definition of qualifying worldwide revenue , which it uses to calculate financial penalties and fees for tech companies which earn over £250m a year. The parties are at a judicial review hearing in the English High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. The regulator created and drafted the Qualifying Worldwide Revenue (QWR) provisions in September last year under the Online Safety Act, which introduced new protections against harmful online content. Under the rules, firms found to have breached safety rules can face fines of up to 10 per cent of qualifying worldwide revenue or £18m, whichever is the higher amount. Under the new rules, if Ofcom enforces against a single entity owned by a tech firm, such as a social media platform, it will