Ofcom says it did not fine Meta £450,000, and the figure traces back to 4chan

A claim circulated on X that UK regulator Ofcom was fining Meta £450,000. Ofcom has since confirmed it imposed no such penalty on the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

The number is real. It just belongs to someone else. It traces back to a separate enforcement action against 4chan, the anonymous message board, which drew a £520,000 penalty. Of that total, £450,000 related to child protection issues.

Meta is not off the hook with Ofcom, though. The two sides are locked in a High Court fight over how the regulator calculates fees under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom has also opened investigations into a new Instagram feature. The fine was a mix-up. The friction is not.

Where the £450,000 figure came from

The 4chan case is the source of the confusion. Ofcom hit the platform with a £520,000 penalty covering several violations, and the largest chunk tied to child protection failures.

That £520,000 fine is the largest penalty Ofcom has publicly detailed so far. Ofcom has issued over £7 million in fines against 11 providers since October 2025.

Under the Online Safety Act, the maximum fine is the greater of 10% of a company’s qualifying worldwide revenue or £18 million. For a company of Meta’s size, the percentage option is the one that matters. A sum like £450,000 would barely register against that ceiling.

Meta’s real dispute with Ofcom

The fight that actually matters is about money of a different kind. Meta has launched a High Court challenge against Ofcom’s approach to assessing fees and penalties under the Online Safety Act.

The core issue is the revenue base. Ofcom’s methodology calculates these fees using global revenue rather than earnings generated in the UK. Meta contends that approach is disproportionate and possibly unlawful.

Meta’s challenge specifically disputes using global revenue to calculate fees for multi-service companies. That category fits Meta neatly, given it runs Facebook, Instagram and other platforms under one corporate roof.

A High Court hearing took place on October 13-14, 2026. A judgment is expected in late October 2026. That ruling could reshape the framework UK online safety regulators work within.

The Instagram Instants investigations

Separately, Ofcom has opened investigations into Meta over the launch of Instagram Instants, a feature introduced in May 2026.

The Online Safety Act requires platforms to carry out risk assessments before they roll out new features. Ofcom’s probes will examine whether Meta met that obligation with Instants.

Why the methodology fight matters more than any single fine

For Meta and its shareholders, the High Court case is where the stakes sit. If the court backs Ofcom and upholds the use of global revenue, international firms operating in the UK could face significantly higher liabilities.

A ruling for Meta could narrow the financial base Ofcom draws on for fees and potentially shape how penalties are viewed, making the UK regime less costly for global platforms.

The next marker to watch is the High Court judgment expected in late October 2026. After that comes whatever Ofcom concludes on Instagram Instants.