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4chan & Kiwi Farms Can't Sue U.K. Internet Regulator in American Court

"laintiffs' suit fails because they seek to use American courts as a sword against Ofcom rather than as a shield to protect themselves."

Eugene Volokh | 9.21.2026 9:33 AM

From Judge Rudolph Contreras (D.D.C.) last week in 4chan Community Support LLC v. UK Office of Communications a/k/a Ofcom:

This case spawned from a series of interactions between Plaintiffs, two American internet companies, and Ofcom. Plaintiff 4chan "runs an Internet imageboard website" that it describes as "controversial," while Lolcow administers a website called Kiwi Farms that operates as a "discussion forum that focuses on Internet culture" and is also self-described as "controversial." According to the Complaint, neither 4chan nor Lolcow has any "presence, operations, or infrastructure outside the territorial limits of the United States." …

Although the Court does not undertake to describe all of Ofcom's regulatory powers, two are particularly relevant here. First, the Online Safety Act gave Ofcom investigatory powers. Ofcom may issue "information notices," which require recipients to give Ofcom "any information that they require for the purpose of exercising, or deciding whether to exercise, any of their online safety functions." Ofcom may also "open an investigation into whether a provider of a regulated service has failed, or is failing, to comply with" certain requirements under the act, and "the provider must co-operate fully with the investigation." These investigative powers are backed by the force of law. "A person commits an offence if the person fails to comply with a requirement of an information notice." If a person is convicted of such an offense, they may be fined.

Second, the Online Safety Act equips Ofcom with two enforcement tools: (1) provisional notices of contravention and (2) confirmation decisions. Provisional........

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