4chan Community Support LLC v. UK Office of Communications
Case 1:25-cv-02880 · U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
In March 2026, UK Ofcom fined 4chan £520,000 under the UK Online Safety Act 2023 — £450,000 for failing to implement age-assurance systems under § 12, and £70,000 for failure to respond to a statutory information notice. 4chan is a U.S.-based platform. Its operators refused to pay. In August 2025, 4chan and Lolcow LLC filed suit in D.D.C. seeking a declaratory judgment that Ofcom’s enforcement action was unconstitutional as applied to U.S.-based platforms operating on U.S. soil, and that service of Ofcom’s orders on U.S. persons was procedurally defective.
Yesterday, the court dismissed on foreign sovereign immunity grounds. Ofcom, as an arm of a foreign state, is entitled to FSIA immunity in U.S. courts unless one of the statute’s enumerated exceptions applies. The court held that none did. It did not decide whether Ofcom’s conduct was lawful. It expressly declined to decide whether Ofcom violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. And it pointed to Congress as the body that could change the result.
Byrne & Storm say the fines “are void in the United States” — Ofcom will not collect a penny in this country and cannot compel 4chan to obey its orders here. But the constitutional question the court avoided is the one that matters for every American who publishes online: can a foreign regulator threaten U.S. persons on U.S. soil with fines and imprisonment for constitutionally protected speech, without any American forum to hear the challenge? Under yesterday’s ruling, yes — unless Congress changes the FSIA.