Meta, TikTok, X challenge UK watchdog over online safety data demands

LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Meta, TikTok and X are challenging British regulator Ofcom over the amount of information it is demanding they provide under Britain's nascent online safety regime.

The challenge is one of the first in relation to the 2023 Online Safety Act, which sets tougher standards for platforms such as TikTok, X and Meta's Facebook and Instagram with the aim to protect children from harmful and illegal content.

Ofcom has been gradually implementing the regime, with its requirements backed up by the threat of fines of up to 10% of a company's global turnover for the most serious breaches.

In February, it issued information notices requesting detailed content moderation metrics from the tech companies, including data on how many posts were removed or had visibility restricted, and how many users were exposed to harmful content.

But Meta, TikTok and X say the notices create unprecedented regulatory burdens, with one witness statement submitted by X describing it as "the most burdensome information request X has received from any regulator in any jurisdiction".

Meta said in court filings that Ofcom wanted it to provide "wide-ranging and granular information" about seven of its services for no clearly defined regulatory purpose.

TikTok also said that Ofcom had circumvented an alternative monitoring regime with specific safeguards in place.

Ofcom said the information was genuinely needed to evaluate whether the new regime was working and it had narrowed the scope of information it required before implementation.

"Parliament has charged us with the job of regulating an industry that has been unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years," an Ofcom spokesperson said in a statement.

This week's hearing concludes on Wednesday, with a separate legal challenge brought by Meta over how fees and penalties are calculated expected next week.     

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Sam Tobin and Alexander Smith)