Wikipedia may be forced to restrict access for UK users unless key elements of Britain’s new Online Safety Act are changed, the High Court has been told.
Lawyers for the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates the online encyclopaedia, said the platform could be required to introduce a quota-based system for UK visitors if it is classified as a category one service under the new digital safety legislation.
Services given this classification must meet the strictest standards under the Act, designed to protect children from harmful content and curb the spread of illegal material online.
To avoid falling under the regulation, Wikipedia may consider capping the number of UK users to stay below the seven-million-user threshold that defines a category one platform. This could limit access to the site for British users, especially during peak times.
Wikipedia reacts with lawsuit
The Wikipedia Foundation has filed a legal challenge against Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, warning that being subject to these rules would impose the same level of oversight intended for large social media companies like Facebook and TikTok.
In its High Court submission, Wikimedia’s legal team argued the rules could “cripple the vital exchange of encyclopaedic information,” either by restricting access for UK users or by forcing fundamental changes to how Wikipedia operates.
Rupert Paines, counsel for the foundation, told the court the proposed measures could have very severe impacts, potentially reducing articles to gibberish and making the site unavailable to many users. He emphasised that Wikipedia is fundamentally different from social media platforms, and the legislation was designed to regulate.
If classified as a category one service, Wikipedia could be required to verify the identities of its anonymous volunteer editors, a move the foundation says would undermine its open-editing model. Unverified users might be barred from editing content, which could result in the persistence of unchecked or inaccurate information.
The foundation also warned that the platform’s recommendation algorithms, such as tools suggesting new articles for editing and features that allow users to share or forward pages, could bring it within the scope of the legislation.
Wikipedia’s legal team said the site might be forced to restrict access for some UK visitors to avoid breaching the law. They wrote: “Wikimedia must weigh imposing a quota-based system for Wikipedia in the UK, depressing average monthly UK users below the category one threshold.”
Such a move would “deprive many of Wikipedia’s UK users of access to the encyclopaedia as and when they want it,” they added.
The Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom, the UK’s digital regulator, to enforce the law. Platforms that fail to comply can face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their global turnover.
While Wikipedia was not initially identified by Ofcom as falling under the rules, the government has argued that its inclusion would be appropriate if the platform meets the defined thresholds. Government lawyers dismissed Wikimedia’s concerns as hypothetical.
A spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is yet to comment on the ongoing legal case.
