Controversial anonymous imageboard 4chan has been hit with a £450,000 fine by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom for failing to protect children from accessing adult content on its platform.
The penalty, announced on Thursday (19 March) stems from 4chan’s non-compliance with key provisions of the Online Safety Act, which requires platforms hosting pornographic material to implement highly effective age assurance measures to prevent children from encountering such content.
Ofcom’s enforcement notes that 4chan did not have appropriate age checks in place, despite the site’s well-known hosting of explicit adult material across various boards.
In addition to the £450,000 fine for breaching age assurance duties, Ofcom imposed:
- A £50,000 penalty for failing to conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of illegal content that UK users might encounter.
- A £20,000 penalty for not specifying in its terms of service how individuals are protected from illegal content.
Ofcom has given 4chan until 2 April to come into compliance by implementing the required measures.
If the platform fails to act, it faces escalating daily fines: £500 per day for the age assurance violation, £200 per day for the risk assessment failure, and £100 per day for the terms of service issue.
These penalties could continue until compliance is achieved or up to 1 June, whichever comes sooner.
“Companies, wherever they’re based, are not allowed to sell unsafe toys to children in the UK. And society has long protected youngsters from things like alcohol, smoking and gambling,” said Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement.
“The digital world should be no different. The UK is setting new standards for online safety. Age checks and risk assessments are cornerstones of our laws, and we’ll take robust enforcement action against firms that fall short.”
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