4CHAN AND 1ST AMENDMENT RIGHTS

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As widely reported:

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Ofcom £20,000 fine of Delaware-incorporated 4chan is illegal says US law firm

Staff Reporter

August 17, 2025

Ofcom’s £20,000 fine and penalties of image board site 4chan are illegal and will be decided by a US federal court, not the UK telecoms regulator, says US law firm Byrne and Storm.

4chan was founded in 2003 as a forum for discussing Japanese comics and anime, but it quickly grew into an online community covering a wide variety of topics. Users can post anonymously, Ofcom argues that much of its content breaches the Online Safety Act.

Ofcom says its investigation shows 4chan has failed to comply with the Online Safety Act 2023 and thats the site failed to respond to a statutory information request, failed to complete and keep a record of a suitable content risk assessment, and failed to comply with safety duties regarding illegal content.

Having received no response from 4chan, Ofcom now intends to fine 4chan £20,000, followed by daily penalties.

Byrne and Storm has reminded Ofcom that 4chan is incorporated in Delaware, has no assets or operations in the UK, and that any attempt to impose or enforce penalties will be resisted in U.S. federal court.

4chan: Ofcom claims that much of its content breaches the Online Safety Act.

In a stinging rebuke, the firm stated:

“American businesses do not surrender their First Amendment rights because a foreign bureaucrat sends them an email. Under settled principles of U.S. law, American courts will not enforce foreign penal fines or censorship codes. If necessary, we will seek appropriate relief in U.S. federal court to confirm these principles. United States federal authorities have been briefed on this matter.”

Byrne and Storm also noted that Sir Keir Starmer was reportedly warned by the White House to stop targeting American firms with the UK’s censorship code saying:

“Despite these warnings, Ofcom continues its illegal campaign of harassment against American technology firms. A political solution to this matter is urgently required and must come from the highest levels of American government. We call on the Trump Administration to invoke all diplomatic and legal levers available to protect American companies from extraterritorial censorship mandates.”

4chan has a reputation for hosting extreme, and sometimes illegal content. Some of its boards have been described as featuring harassment campaigns, and extremist ideologies and is monitored by monitored police due to threats and illegal material being shared.

TARGETED

4chan was targeted by the British authorities, even before the recent legislation was signed into law. In 2022, Jonathan Hall QC:

INDEPENDENT REVIEWER OF TERRORISM LEGISLATION

Response to first OFCOM consultation re Online Safety Bill Introduction

1. This is a response to OFCOM’s first consultation in connection with the Online Safety Bill1 . The focus of the consultation is on the risk of harm from illegal content, which includes “terrorism content”, mitigations concerning illegal content, child access assessment and transparency requirements.

2. This response addresses Question 28 which reads: “Q28. Other than those in this document, are you aware of other measures available for mitigating risk and harm from illegal content?”

3. In summary, improvements could be made by requiring an extra tier of protection for children, who are particularly susceptible to the risk of harm posed by terrorism content.

4. So far as OFCOM’s proposed powers under the Bill are concerned, OFCOM could in due course include reference to protecting children from terrorism content in its codes of practice and regulatory guidance.

5. Although not a matter for OFCOM, it is also fair to say that the Online Safety Bill, which is currently paused before Parliament at Report Stage, and whose final content is unknown, could benefit from making an explicit reference to the risk of harm to children from terrorism content. At present, the Bill offers only the same degree of protection for children as for adults.

Specifically referring to 4chan:

30. The site 4Chan has the following disclaimer for its ‘/pol/’ imageboard: “To access this section of 4chan (the "website"), you understand and agree to the following: 1. The content of this website is for mature audiences only and may not be suitable for minors. If you are a minor or it is illegal for you to access mature images and language, do not proceed. 2. This website is presented to you AS IS, with no warranty, express or implied. By clicking "I Agree," you agree not to hold 4chan responsible for any damages from your use of the website, and you understand that the content posted is not owned or generated by 4chan, but rather by 4chan's users. 3. As a condition of using this website, you agree to comply with the "Rules" of 4chan, which are also linked on the home page. Please read the Rules carefully, because they are important.” 31. In researching this response, I easily found a copy of the Buffalo (New York) terrorist attack live-stream on a mainstream platform (not 4Chan or 8Chan). It was sufficient to click that I was over 18. It was not necessary to sign in to view the content.

32. This does not appear to provide adequate protection against child users of the site accessing terrorism content. The implementation of the Bill ought to require sites to assess the risk of children accessing terrorism content and take enhanced steps to prevent children from doing so.

Conclusions

33. The Bill does not, regrettably, expressly require user-to-user and search providers to assess the risk that children will encounter terrorism content or carry out enhanced steps to minimise the risk of them doing so.

34. It is potentially open to OFCOM to provide guidance to tech companies, and include detail in its Code of Practice, to remedy these defects. 35. If the Bill remains in its current form, OFCOM should require all platforms to carry out child-centred risk assessments and put in place effective measures to minimise the risk of children encountering terrorism content.

Jonathan Hall QC 29 July 2022

Many people would never have heard of 4chan. Now, thanks to this media firestorm created by a British censor, everyone has.