Cable Forum - Online Safety Bill Etc

Ofcom chiefs have acknowledged that most fines issued under the Online Safety Act (OSA) remain unpaid, highlighting limitations in the comms regulator's enforcement powers.

The regulator's director of enforcement, Suzanne Cater, told the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee that although another payment arrived this week, "realistically the majority have not been paid.”

Sadly I can’t find a direct link to support this, I got it from a post on The Register

If true, then who would have suspected it?

If only anyone had thought to inform the legislators that they can pass any law they like. Enforcement is quite another matter!

Looks like they're going to go after individuals instead ie senior managers.

Sirius

18-09-2026 06:46

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter (Post 36222504)

Looks like they're going to go after individuals instead ie senior managers.

And if they are in another country, well good luck with that.

Paul	18-09-2026 19:36

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter (Post 36222504)

Looks like they're going to go after individuals instead ie senior managers.

More straw clutching.

Sirius

18-09-2026 20:50

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul (Post 36222571)

More straw clutching.

I wonder how much money has been spent so far chasing fines compared with what they have been able to recover.

Latest on 4chan

No, 4chan has not paid its fines, and it has publicly refused to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act. The status of the situation involves several key points:The Fines: Ofcom hit 4chan with a combined package of fines totaling £520,000 (initially starting with earlier information requests and escalating to £450,000 for failing to implement age-assurance checks for adult content, £50,000 for failing to carry out illegal content risk assessments, and £20,000 for deficient terms of service), alongside mounting daily penalty fees for continued non-compliance. The Stance: 4chan and its legal representation have effectively shrugged off the penalties. Their legal defense (headed by US lawyers) argued that because the platform operates out of the United States, its conduct is protected by the First Amendment and it does not recognize Ofcom's jurisdiction. The Enforcement Stalemate: Because 4chan is an overseas entity with no physical assets or corporate presence in the UK to seize, collecting the cash directly is nearly impossible through standard debt recovery.Instead of voluntary payment, Ofcom's alternative options for dealing with defiant offshore platforms include pursuing business disruption measures—such as ordering UK payment providers/advertisers to cut ties or forcing UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block the website domain entirely.

Just shows that the oline safety act is toothless in most situations as even without a VPN i can still access 4Chan

jem	18-09-2026 20:57

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius (Post 36222579)

I wonder how much money has been spent so far chasing fines compared with what they have been able to recover.

Probably quite little, a few letters, the cost of a few stamps. Look they absolutely know that these companies will never pay the fines. That was never the point, the point was always for the government of the day to be able to say 'we are doing something'

OLD BOY

19-09-2026 15:03

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius (Post 36222579)

I wonder how much money has been spent so far chasing fines compared with what they have been able to recover.

Latest on 4chan

No, 4chan has not paid its fines, and it has publicly refused to comply with the UK's Online Safety Act. The status of the situation involves several key points:The Fines: Ofcom hit 4chan with a combined package of fines totaling £520,000 (initially starting with earlier information requests and escalating to £450,000 for failing to implement age-assurance checks for adult content, £50,000 for failing to carry out illegal content risk assessments, and £20,000 for deficient terms of service), alongside mounting daily penalty fees for continued non-compliance. The Stance: 4chan and its legal representation have effectively shrugged off the penalties. Their legal defense (headed by US lawyers) argued that because the platform operates out of the United States, its conduct is protected by the First Amendment and it does not recognize Ofcom's jurisdiction. The Enforcement Stalemate: Because 4chan is an overseas entity with no physical assets or corporate presence in the UK to seize, collecting the cash directly is nearly impossible through standard debt recovery.Instead of voluntary payment, Ofcom's alternative options for dealing with defiant offshore platforms include pursuing business disruption measures—such as ordering UK payment providers/advertisers to cut ties or forcing UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block the website domain entirely.

Just shows that the oline safety act is toothless in most situations as even without a VPN i can still access 4Chan

Crypto is their friend!

1andrew1

19-09-2026 17:54

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by OLD BOY (Post 36222601)

Crypto is their friend!

Crypto is the banking equivalent of the dark web.

Carth

19-09-2026 18:58

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1andrew1 (Post 36222608)

Crypto is the banking equivalent of the dark web.

This could well be a first, but I agree with Andrew

No I'm not off my head on drugs or alcohol ;)

RichardCoulter

23-09-2026 13:23

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

The owner of Pornhub is to be investigated by Ofcom over concerns that they aren't doing enough to stop under 18's accessing their content.

Paul	23-09-2026 13:28

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Well they need to keep justifying their existance with more pointless investigations. :dozey:

After all, how long does it take to load a porn site ? :erm:

damien c

23-09-2026 19:56

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter (Post 36222797)

The owner of Pornhub is to be investigated by Ofcom over concerns that they aren't doing enough to stop under 18's accessing their content.

And what are they supposed to do?

They have done everything they legally have to do, so are the ignorant, stupid and power hungry Ofcom going to demand more from them than they legally have to do?

Soon it will be illegal to breath folks because the lunatics in charge think that because they saw something in a book once that said "breathing puts out gasses that are harmful (ignoring the rest of the information)" so that means all things need to be stopped from breathing to save the children from the harmful effects of breathing aka life!

Meanwhile they do nothing to stop the idiots stabbing each other in London on a daily basis, the idiots riding around on E-Bikes robbing phones etc, but no they need to make sure that the internet is child friendly, not the actual country they live in, the streets they walk or the schools they go to etc but the Internet!

Paul	23-09-2026 20:06

Re: Online Safety Bill Etc

They wont be happy until all porn sites convert to pictures of fluffy kittens ....

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