Dear all,
I hope you enjoyed Wikimania, whether virtual or in person. I have an update on WMF's legal challenge in the UK.
On Monday, 11 August, the High Court of Justice dismissed the Wikimedia Foundation's challenge to the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/08/11/wikimedia-foundation-challenges-uk-online-safety-act-regulations/ Categorisation Regulations. While the decision does not provide the immediate legal protections for Wikipedia that we hoped for, the Court’s ruling emphasized the responsibility of Ofcom https://www.ofcom.org.uk/and the UK government to ensure Wikipedia is protected as the OSA is implemented.
The judge recognized the "significant value" of Wikipedia, its safety for users, as well as the damages that wrongly-assigned OSA categorisations and duties could have on the human rights of Wikipedia's volunteer contributors. The Court stressed that this ruling "does not give Ofcom and the Secretary of State a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia's operations", and indicated they could face legal repercussions if they fail to protect Wikipedia and the rights of its users. In order to achieve that outcome, he suggested that Ofcom may need to find a particularly flexible interpretation of the rules in question, or that the rules themselves may need amendment in Parliament.
If the ruling stands, the first categorization decisions from Ofcom are expected this summer. The Foundation will continue to seek solutions to protect Wikipedia and the rights of its users as the OSA continues to be implemented.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions.
Best wishes, Ziski
On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 11:06 AM Franziska Putz fputz@wikimedia.org wrote:
Dear all,
I hope you had a lovely long weekend. I’m Ziski from the Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy team; I’m based in London and have been fortunate to meet some of you. I am reaching out with an* important update about UK regulatory affairs. *
On 8 May, 2025, the Wikimedia Foundation announced a legal challenge against a new element of the UK Online Safety Act, https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2023/09/19/wikimedia-foundation-calls-for-protection-and-fair-treatment-of-wikipedia/which could have detrimental effects for Wikipedia. This is an aspect of the same law that the Foundation has been warning the government about in parliamentary debates and an open letter campaign, which many of you supported. We are bringing a legal challenge because the negative impacts that this law threatens to have on Wikipedia have not been addressed.
The challenge targets the Categorisation Regulations, which are currently so broadly written that Wikipedia could be classified as a “Category 1” service. As a Category 1 service, Wikipedia could face duties that would threaten our mission, for example, by disempowering users who wish to keep their identity private. In https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/05/08/wikimedia-foundation-brings-legal-challenge-to-new-uk-online-safety-act-requirements/this blog post https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/05/08/wikimedia-foundation-brings-legal-challenge-to-new-uk-online-safety-act-requirements/ you can learn more about our legal challenge.
The Foundation will also be hosting a Zoom call on Tuesday, May 13 @ 18:00 - 19:00 BST to answer any questions you may have. Please register for the call *via this link https://wikimedia.zoom.us/meeting/register/yG-qXyR0RAStKsDVMmhtIA.*
Best wishes,
Ziski
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz@wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone