Authored by Owen Evans via The Epoch Times,

Online forums based in the United States that rely on First Amendment protections are getting caught up in internet regulations in the UK, where they now risk being blocked under recent legislation.

Hailed by the British government as the world’s first online safety law, the Online Safety Act (OSA) became law in October 2023, but the duties related to the regulation of so-called illegal content took effect on March 17.

The law requires online platforms to implement measures to protect people in the UK from criminal activity, with far-reaching implications for the internet.

Gab, an American social media network, positions itself as a champion of free speech.

Gab CEO Andrew Torba said in a March 26 social media post that the UK government has demanded that it submit to “their new censorship regime under the UK Online Safety Act.”

Gab—which has no legal presence in the UK—was informed in a letter from UK regulator Ofcom on March 16 that it falls specifically within the scope of the law and must comply.

Under the OSA, sites that allow user interaction, including forums, must have completed an illegal harm risk assessment by March 16 and submitted it to Ofcom by March 31.

Ofcom warned that noncompliance could result in enforcement action—including massive fines of 18 million pounds (more than $23 million), or 10 percent of a company’s annual revenue—or even court orders to block access in the UK.

OSA was designed to ensure tech companies take more responsibility for user safety.

Under the act, social media platforms and other user-to-user service providers must proactively police harmful and illegal content such as revenge and extreme pornography, sex trafficking, harassment, coercive or controlling behavior, and cyberstalking.

Gab has refused to comply with the OSA.

“We will not comply. We will not pay one cent,” Torba said.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, Gab said that this “law operates outside their jurisdiction.”

Gab’s lawyers said that their client is a U.S. company with no presence outside of the United States.