4chan and Kiwi Farms have lost their attempt to stop Britain’s online safety regulator in a U.S. court, with a federal judge ruling that Ofcom is protected by foreign sovereign immunity.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday in Washington, D.C., cutting off the forums’ attempt to block Ofcom’s enforcement of the UK Online Safety Act through American courts.
The ruling comes as Ofcom pursues 4chan over alleged violations of the law, including £520,000 in penalties imposed earlier this year over age checks, its assessment of illegal content risks and information included in its terms of service.
Contreras did not decide whether Ofcom’s demands violate the First Amendment or whether its UK penalties can ultimately be enforced against the U.S.-based companies. Those questions could return to an American court if the regulator later attempts to collect a British judgment in the United States.
“Put simply, plaintiffs’ suit fails because they seek to use American courts as a sword against Ofcom rather than as a shield to protect themselves,” Contreras wrote.
4chan Community Support LLC and Lolcow LLC, which operates Kiwi Farms, sued Ofcom in August 2025 after the regulator began demanding information from the forums under the Online Safety Act.
The companies argued that Ofcom’s communications and threatened penalties interfered with their constitutional rights and U.S. operations. They sought to stop the British regulator from applying the law to them from overseas.
Ofcom moved to dismiss the case, arguing that it is an instrumentality of the British government and therefore generally immune from lawsuits in American courts.
Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, foreign governments and their agencies are ordinarily protected from civil suits in the United States unless a statutory exception applies.
The forums argued that Ofcom fell within an exception covering commercial activity. Contreras rejected that argument, finding that the conduct at issue was regulatory rather than the type of activity ordinarily carried out by a private business.
The jurisdictional ruling leaves the forums’ underlying constitutional arguments unresolved.
Contreras pointed to other avenues for raising those objections. The companies can challenge Ofcom’s actions through the British legal system, while another U.S. dispute could arise if the regulator tries to enforce a monetary judgment here.
Both companies operate from the United States without a physical presence in Britain, according to the ruling. Contreras said Ofcom would most likely need to turn to U.S. courts if it eventually sought to collect a judgment against them in the country.
American courts are not automatically required to enforce foreign penal judgments, giving the forum another potential opportunity to contest Ofcom’s actions if enforcement reaches the United States.
The dispute began in 2025 after Ofcom sent 4chan statutory requests seeking its illegal-content risk assessment and information about its worldwide revenue.
After 4chan failed to provide the requested information, Ofcom imposed a £20,000 fine in October 2025 along with daily penalties that ultimately reached £6,000.
Ofcom expanded its enforcement against the forum this year. In March, the regulator imposed £450,000 for failing to use age checks designed to prevent children from accessing pornography, £50,000 over its illegal-content risk assessment and £20,000 over information required in its terms of service.
The Online Safety Act imposes duties on online services available to UK users, including requirements covering illegal content and access to pornography by children. Ofcom maintains that the law can apply to qualifying services based outside Britain.
4chan and Kiwi Farms have challenged that overseas reach, arguing that Ofcom’s actions threaten speech protected under U.S. law.
Ofcom welcomed the dismissal and said the ruling allows it to continue carrying out its duties under UK law.
The decision ends the forum’s current U.S. lawsuit on sovereign-immunity grounds. A later attempt by Ofcom to collect penalties in the United States could put the enforceability of those sanctions before an American court.
