Meta appeals extra UK duties for WhatsApp and Instagram
The company is challenging both services’ Category 1 status under the Online Safety Act, which expands transparency, user-control and fraudulent-ad duties.
R42 / SUMMARY
Meta has appealed Ofcom’s decision to classify WhatsApp and Instagram as Category 1 services under the UK Online Safety Act. The company says it is challenging the regime’s interpretation and implementation rather than the law itself; while the case proceeds, the official classification and its associated duties remain the regulatory reference point.
KEY POINTS
- WhatsApp and Instagram are listed in Ofcom’s official register as Category 1 services.
- The category brings additional duties involving transparency, user controls and protection from fraudulent advertising.
- Meta argues that some obligations were not designed for private one-to-one and small-group messaging.
- The new categorisation appeal is separate from Meta’s earlier challenges to regulatory fees.
- There is no final judicial decision or public timetable for the appeal’s conclusion.
Meta has opened a new legal front over the UK Online Safety Act. The company appealed Ofcom’s decision to place WhatsApp and Instagram in Category 1, a tier for large user-to-user services that adds duties involving transparency, user controls, protection from fraudulent advertising and recordkeeping around the handling of illegal content.
The appeal was brought before the UK’s Upper Tribunal and has not been decided. Meta says it is not trying to overturn the online safety law itself but is challenging how the regulator interpreted and applied its rules. The company argues in particular that obligations developed for large public platforms do not fit private one-to-one and small-group WhatsApp conversations in the same way.
What Category 1 adds
Ofcom’s official register places Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Quora, Reddit, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp, X and YouTube in Category 1. To qualify, a regulated service must pass one of the thresholds based on monthly active UK users and combine that reach with features such as content recommendation or sharing between users.
The classification does not mean that every listed service operates in the same way. Ofcom’s own register describes Instagram as a social media service and WhatsApp as a messaging service. Meta’s challenge puts that distinction at the center of the case: the company says the private nature of much of WhatsApp requires the obligations to be applied proportionately.
For categorised services, the regime provides for additional responsibilities involving transparency, user choice and control, fraudulent advertising, complaints, identity verification and protections for journalistic or democratically important content. Some of those measures are still subject to regulatory consultation. Category 1 therefore creates the legal basis for broader duties, but it does not mean that every future requirement has already been finalised and taken effect in the same form.
The new appeal is not the fee dispute
Meta is also pursuing separate cases over other parts of implementation. In May, the company challenged the methodology used to calculate fees that fund Ofcom’s online safety work. That regime uses qualifying worldwide revenue from regulated services: Ofcom identifies a £250 million threshold for liability and an exemption where UK referable revenue is below £10 million.
Ofcom has provided an indicative planning tariff of 0.02% to 0.03%, although the exact rate depends on notifications and calculations for each charging cycle. Those figures help explain the financial dimension of the broader conflict, but they should not be conflated with the latest case. The new action concerns WhatsApp and Instagram’s Category 1 status; cases about fees and information requests address different parts of the framework.
Meta says it is challenging specific issues of process, scope and implementation so that the law is applied proportionately, accurately and consistently. That is the company’s stated position. Ofcom, meanwhile, continues to maintain the register and says it is operating in a highly litigious environment while implementing the law. Other companies, including Roblox and Quora, are also contesting categorisation, while TikTok and X have brought separate challenges involving information demands.
Why the decision could matter beyond two apps
The case tests how far a framework designed for services with massive reach can place a visual social network and an end-to-end encrypted messenger in the same tier. A Meta victory could require the regulator to tailor duties more closely to a service’s architecture; a defeat would reinforce the view that reach and content-circulation features can justify the category even when much of the communication is private.
Those are possible consequences, not confirmed outcomes. There is no final ruling or public timetable for the appeal’s conclusion. For now, the established facts are that WhatsApp and Instagram remain in Ofcom’s official Category 1 register and that the legality and proportionality of the designation will be examined by the tribunal.
Gabriel Silva
Responsible for reporting and writing this story at Rota42.
R42 / FAQ
Have WhatsApp and Instagram been banned in the UK?
No. Both services remain available. The case concerns their regulatory classification and additional duties under the Online Safety Act, not a ban.
What does Category 1 service mean?
It is the category for large user-to-user services that meet reach and functionality thresholds. It adds obligations involving transparency, user controls, protection from fraudulent advertising and other accountability measures.
Why is Meta appealing?
Meta says Ofcom interpreted and applied parts of the regime incorrectly. For WhatsApp, the company argues that certain duties were not designed for private one-to-one and small-group messaging.
Is Meta challenging the entire Online Safety Act?
Meta says it is not. The company describes the cases as challenges to specific issues of implementation, process and scope rather than to the existence of the law.
Is the categorisation appeal the same as the dispute over fees?
No. The new appeal concerns WhatsApp and Instagram’s Category 1 status. Meta has separate challenges involving the fee methodology and other aspects of Ofcom’s implementation.