Online forum 4Chan sues Ofcom in the US over ‘attempt to censor’

The website filed the complaint against the enforcer of the UK Online Safety Act alongside another online forum, Kiwi Farms, in a Washington DC Federal Court in an attempt to ban it from enforcing the act against the two US sites.

In a legal complaint, representatives for 4Chan said the Online Safety Act, which came into force last month, was being used to "target the free speech rights of American citizens" and the law suit aimed to "restrain Ofcom’s conduct and its continuing egregious violations of Americans’ civil rights".

Part of the legal letter read: "Ofcom’s conception of keeping users safe is keeping them safe from encountering points of view of which Ofcom disapproves.

"Ofcom purports to regulate content and interactions on platforms and services with which plaintiffs’ users are voluntarily interacting.

"Ofcom seeks to control those interactions in order to satisfy the whims of Ofcom employees or the UK law enforcement or political apparatuses."

It comes after the regulator began an investigation into 4Chan in June after receiving complaints about illegal activity on the site.

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The Online Safety Act says a service does not have to be based in the UK to be subject to it and face action from Ofcom if it has a significant number of UK users or sees the UK as a target market.

4Chan lawyers want the court to rule that US businesses with no physical presence in the UK are not subject to the laws, and want it to rule that the Online Safety Act is in conflict with US citizens’ free speech rights under the US constitution.

The legal letter added: "Ofcom’s ambitions are to regulate internet communications for the entire world, regardless of where these websites are based or whether they have any connection to the UK."

It adds that Ofcom has sent notices to both 4Chan and Kiwi Farms threatening them with "criminal penalties" and claiming that it was to open investigations into the websites over their duties around "illegal content".

Since its creation in 2003, 4Chan has been linked by critics to harassment campaigns and the promotion of conspiracy theories by users.

Kiwi Farms, which was established in 2013, has also faced claims that some of its users engage in harassment.

In the complaint, lawyers for 4Chan and Kiwi Farms admitted that the websites were "controversial" but said they operated "fully in compliance with the laws of the United States".

An Ofcom spokesperson said: "We are aware of this lawsuit.

"Under the Online Safety Act, any service that has links with the UK now has duties to protect UK users, no matter where in the world it is based.

"The Act does not, however, require them to protect users based anywhere else in the world."