Wikipedia has suffered a legal setback in its fight against the UK Government’s Online Safety Act verification rules.
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), which operates the online encyclopedia, joined forces with an anonymous editor known as BLN to challenge the measures introduced in March. They sought an exemption, claiming the rules could force them into imposing user verification or risk cutting off large sections of their UK audience.
On Monday, however, Mr Justice Johnson dismissed the case. He suggested there were ways for the platform to comply with the law “without causing undue damage to Wikipedia’s operations”.
The Online Safety Act is designed to tackle harmful material online. It places certain platforms into ‘category one’ based on monthly traffic and how they distribute information.
If Wikipedia were placed in this top tier, all users could be required to verify their identities before contributing.
At an earlier hearing, Rupert Paines, representing WMF, argued that such a rule would devastate the site’s open-edit model. He said filtering out unverified users could render many entries “gibberish”.
He also claimed the regulations were intended for “major, profit-making technology companies” such as Facebook, X and Instagram, not for a volunteer-driven, non-profit platform. Forcing identity checks, he argued, would infringe the human rights of Wikipedia contributors.
Cecilia Ivimy KC, acting for the government, revealed ministers had considered whether Wikipedia should be exempt, but decided otherwise.
She maintained that the site “is in principle an appropriate service on which to impose category one duties” and that the decision was neither “without reasonable foundation nor irrational”.
While rejecting WMF and BLN’s arguments, Mr Justice Johnson stressed that his ruling “does not give Ofcom and the Secretary of State a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia’s operations”.
If Ofcom formally classifies Wikipedia as category one, the decision could be challenged again. As the judge noted: “Ofcom’s decision as to which services fall within category one is a public law decision which is potentially amenable to the court’s review on grounds of public law error.”
With the possibility of further legal battles on the horizon, Wikipedia now faces an uncertain future in the UK’s tightening online safety landscape.