4chan Fined £20K by Ofcom: A Comedy of Compliance Errors in Online Safety Act Debut
Ofcom has fined 4chan £20,000 for failing to protect children from harmful content, with potential daily fines looming. The Online Safety Act is flexing its muscles, holding platforms accountable for illegal content. Meanwhile, some sites are dodging further action by geo-blocking UK users. Remember, playing by the rules is always in style!
Hot Take:
Oh, 4chan! When you’re not busy being the Internet’s notorious meme factory, you’re getting slapped with fines for not playing nice in the online sandbox. Who would’ve thought that ignoring a regulator’s requests could cost you a pretty penny? Maybe invest in a good risk assessment or two instead of those “dank memes.” As for Ofcom, they’re clearly not here to play games, unless it’s Minesweeper with illegal content mines. And with fines that could snowball faster than a cat meme goes viral, perhaps 4chan should consider compliance as their new online trend. After all, nothing says “we care about safety” quite like avoiding a financial spanking from a government watchdog!
Key Points:
– Ofcom fines 4chan £20,000 for failing to protect kids from harmful content.
– Fines could increase by £6,000 if 4chan doesn’t provide requested risk assessments.
– The Online Safety Act allows fines up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue.
– Ofcom has 21 investigations and 5 enforcement programs underway since March.
– Some platforms have avoided action by blocking UK users instead of complying.