United Kingdom: Office of Communications published confirmation decision against 4chan imposing penalties totalling GBP 520'000 for failure to comply with illegal content risk assessment duty, illegal content safety duty, and children's safety duties

On 21 April 2026, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) published a confirmation decision under section 132 of the Online Safety Act 2023 against 4chan Community Support LLC in respect of 4chan .org, following a provisional notice of contravention issued on 12 February 2026 under section 130 of the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom determined that 4chan failed to comply with three duties under the Online Safety Act 2023, resulting in total penalties of GBP 520'000. Under section 9(2), 4chan failed to carry out a suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment, resulting in a penalty of GBP 50'000 and a compliance deadline of 2 April 2026, with a daily rate penalty of GBP 200 for continued non-compliance up to 1 June 2026. Under section 10(5), it failed to include provisions in its terms of service specifying how individuals are to be protected from illegal content, resulting in a penalty of GBP 20'000 and a compliance deadline of 2 April 2026, with a daily rate penalty of GBP 100. Under section 12, it failed to implement highly effective age assurance to prevent children from encountering pornographic content, resulting in a penalty of GBP 450'000 and a compliance deadline of 2 April 2026, with a daily rate penalty of GBP 500.