Attorneys for the contentious websites Kiwi Farms and 4chan have sued the UK’s Online Safety Act enforcer, Ofcom. They have filed a complaint in a Federal Court in Washington, DC, seeking a prohibition on the communications regulator’s ability to enforce or attempt to enforce the Online Safety Act against them in the United States.
According to Preston Byrne of the law firm Byrne & Storm, “American citizens do not give up our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an email. Ofcom acknowledged the lawsuit to the BBC. No matter where in the globe a service is headquartered, it now has an obligation to safeguard UK users under the Online Safety Act.
The act does not need a service to be headquartered in the UK in order for Ofcom to take action against it. Having a sizable user base in the UK or the UK as a target market can be sufficient.
However, 4chan’s attorneys want the US court to decide that US companies that don’t operate in the UK are exempt from British law. Additionally, they want it to state that the Online Safety Act violates the free expression guarantees of the US Constitution.
Also Read:
Our Crisis of Hope: Dr. Tony McCaffrey
From Vision to Precision – Sowaba Shehzad Drives Innovation at Moulded Optics
