UK's Ofcom has reportedly sent enforcement emails to nearly 200 tech companies in the US

Ofcom has reportedly been sending enforcement notices to nearly 200 US-based technology companies. This was revealed today through a Freedom of Information response. The earliest source I could find is from Daniel L on X, and it was later highlighted by Preston Byrne, a tech lawyer, through another post on X.

This situation highlights the ongoing clash between the UK’s strict internet policies and America’s relatively strong free-speech protections.

Byrne also forwarded the information directly to contacts in the US government, specifically in Washington, D.C. Quoting a post from the free speech campaign group “SPEAK UK,” Byrne framed the enforcement notices as a major overreach. “The audacity of trying to regulate the Internet from one country…” quotes SPEAK UK.

With nearly 200 targets in public, Byrne also highlighted that American lawyers should support the GRANITE Act, which would allow US entities to sue foreign governments for censorship attempts.

He also asked the person who posted the letter snippet to try to share the complete letter. This level of censorship has clearly attracted a lot of outrage from citizens, free speech groups, and lawyers. A few people are negative about this, wondering whether DC would do anything at all.

Companies are actively self-censoring themselves globally to avoid UK penalties, and this risks fragmenting the internet, since platforms are indirectly being forced to apply strict rules everywhere.

The UK’s Online Safety Act, which passed in 2023, is now in full enforcement. It was designed to protect children from harmful content, and the law requires platforms to heavily moderate content, a direct blow to free speech. Ofcom is the independent regulator that holds broad powers to demand compliance, and non-compliance can lead to hefty fines, daily penalties, or service blocks in the UK.

The President of the United States commented in 2025 that these laws aren’t good, and companies in the UK should not dictate what US-based companies should do. Recently, the US State Department even launched an online portal to allow Europeans access to banned content.

A few months ago, we highlighted a rather funny situation where Ofcom also went after xAI’s Grok. Recently, Ofcom has been trying to apply UK rules to platforms based in the US. Many companies have largely tried to comply with the policies, in fear of losing access to British users or facing fines. Major brands such as Apple went overboard, mandating OS-level age verification for proper access to the internet.

A handful of websites, such as 4chan, pushed back hard, claiming that websites that aren’t based in the UK don’t need to follow UK rules globally. While I think some amount of moderation to protect minors online is ok, I don’t agree with OS-level age verification and forcing people to upload their IDs. Do let us know what you think of this in the comments.

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