As the UK’s online safety watchdog, Ofcom regulates more than 100,000 companies, many of which are based entirely outside the UK. This does not mean they are outside the scope of the Online Safety Act. As in other industries, companies that provide an online service to people in the UK must comply with UK laws, regardless of where they are based.
We use a variety of methods to drive compliance and ultimately protect the public, especially children. One of the ways we do this is through formal enforcement action. If we find that a company has not complied with its duties, we can impose fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
The Online Safety Act states that we must allow firms a reasonable amount of time to pay a fine, which must be at least 28 days.
What can Ofcom do about unpaid fines?
If a company fails to pay a fine, we will pursue recovery of that debt wherever possible, regardless of where the firm is based. The steps for this recovery action vary depending on whether the company has assets in the UK or not.
If a company has assets in the UK - as the biggest tech companies typically do, as well as UK telecoms companies and broadcasters – the process is relatively straightforward. This would usually involve going through the UK courts to obtain a judgment confirming that the amount of the financial penalty is owed as a debt. This is often known as a ‘judgment debt’.
Once this has been secured, it is possible to enforce the judgment. This could include obtaining court orders which permit bailiffs to seize and sell the company’s UK assets in order to satisfy the debt.
If a company does not have assets in the UK - obtaining a judgment debt and enforcing is more complex and challenging. It is often necessary to engage with law enforcement agencies and private specialists in other countries to identify individuals and assets against which Ofcom can take action.
Some online service providers have deliberately structured themselves to try and avoid enforcement action – for example, by incorporating themselves in jurisdictions where limited information needs to be provided to the corporate register.
Whether we are able to recover debt through assets in another country can also depend on whether a court in that country will recognise a UK court judgment, and whether we can identify individuals on whom we can serve proceedings.
We have initiated work regarding the pursuit of debt from all companies that have not paid their fines by their deadlines.
Can a platform be blocked in the UK for not paying a fine?
In the most serious cases of ongoing non-compliance, we can apply to a court for ‘business disruption measures’, through which a court could require third parties such as internet service providers to block access to a site in the UK.
However, we do not have the legal powers to apply to block a site in the UK for failure to pay a fine alone. For us to be able to apply to a court for business disruption measures, there has to be continuing non-compliance with duties under the Online Safety Act.
For the avoidance of doubt, neither Ofcom nor the UK courts through the business disruption measure process have the power to ‘shut down’ a website globally.
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