When Ofcom Asks For Your Data, Saying No Just Got Harder

Introduction

On 30 October 2026 the Divisional Court dismissed judicial review challenges brought against Ofcom by Meta Platforms and WhatsApp, X and TikTok over information notices issued under the Online Safety Act 2023. The judgment, R (Meta, X and TikTok) v Ofcom [2026] EWHC 2779, is the first time a court has examined Ofcom’s power to compel information from regulated online services.

The claimants were four of the largest platforms in the world, but the reasoning has nothing to do with their size. The court addressed how the power is structured, how much latitude Ofcom has in deciding what it needs, and what a provider must prove to argue that a notice goes too far. Those questions arise identically for a marketplace with a review function, a SaaS product with a community forum, or a mid-sized app with user messaging. For any business within scope of the Act, this is the clearest indication yet of how little room there is to push back once a notice lands.