Finance
Wikipedia will not appeal dismissal of its UK Online Safety Act challenge
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Wikipedia will not appeal the UK court's decision on the Online Safety Act, which imposes strict regulations on platforms, raising free speech concerns.
By Paul Sandle
LONDON (Reuters) -The operator of Wikipedia said on Friday it would not appeal its defeat last month in a legal challenge to Britain's Online Safety Act, which sets tough new requirements for platforms and has been criticised for potentially curtailing free speech.
The U.S. government has criticised Britain's new online law, along with a similar policy in the European Union, and President Donald Trump could bring it up in reference to his concerns around free speech during his state visit next week.
The Wikimedia Foundation took action at London's High Court over regulations made under the law, which it said could impose the most stringent category of duties on the online encyclopaedia written and maintained by volunteers.
It said if it were subject to Category 1 duties – designed for the riskiest websites and which would require Wikipedia's contributors' identities to be verified – it would need to drastically reduce the number of British users who can access the site.
In dismissing the case, Judge Jeremy Johnson said he was not giving regulator Ofcom and the government a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia's operations, but said if Ofcom decides that Wikipedia was not a Category 1 service, then no further issue would arise.
Ofcom is in the process of deciding Category 1 designations.
"The Foundation will continue to monitor how the court's guidance is followed, and Wikipedia is protected as the OSA moves forward," it said.
Wikimedia Foundation's lead counsel Phil Bradley-Schmieg said Judge Johnson had put the ball in Ofcom's and the UK government's court.
He said in an interview that the judgement indicated that Ofcom should take a flexible and proportionate approach to interpreting the rules.
But "there is a very real risk of Category 1 status being imposed based on the rules as they stand", he said.
"The lasting solution is probably taking a good honest look at whether those rules fit the bill," he said.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle)
Wikipedia has decided not to appeal its defeat in the legal challenge against Britain's Online Safety Act.
If subjected to Category 1 duties, Wikipedia would need to verify contributors' identities, which could drastically reduce the number of contributors.
Judge Johnson indicated that he was not giving Ofcom and the government a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia's operations.
The Wikimedia Foundation plans to monitor how the court's guidance is followed to ensure Wikipedia is protected as the Online Safety Act progresses.
Phil Bradley-Schmieg suggested that Ofcom should take a flexible and proportionate approach to interpreting the rules under the Online Safety Act.
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