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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The High Court dismissed Wikimedia Foundation’s challenge to the UK’s Category 1 threshold regulations on 11 August 2025. The ruling did not decide that Wikipedia is a Category 1 service, require UK users to verify their identities, or exempt Wikipedia from future regulation. Ofcom retained responsibility for deciding Wikipedia’s status.
As of 10 July 2026, the Wikimedia Foundation said Ofcom had notified it that Wikipedia was “not currently deemed a Category 1 service.” Ofcom’s register nevertheless lists Wikipedia as an emerging Category 1 service, meaning it does not yet have the additional Category 1 duties. This status is subject to change if Ofcom reassesses the service.
What the High Court decided
The case was Wikimedia Foundation v Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, [2025] EWHC 2086 (Admin), heard in the King’s Bench Division of the Administrative Court by Mr Justice Johnson. Judgment was handed down on 11 August 2025.
Wikimedia challenged regulation 3 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025. The claim targeted the rules used to identify services that may fall into Category 1; it was not a general challenge to the Online Safety Act or to every Category 1 duty.
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The court dismissed the claim. It did not determine whether Wikipedia met the threshold. That assessment belonged to Ofcom and had not been made when the judgment was issued.
Why Wikipedia was worried about Category 1
The Wikimedia Foundation argued that applying the threshold rules to Wikipedia could interfere with its volunteer-led model. Its stated concerns included possible effects on volunteer privacy and safety, burdensome identity checks and changes to how the site operates. Those were the Foundation’s concerns, not orders made by the court or findings that Wikipedia must introduce verification.
Wikipedia is maintained by volunteers and, according to figures published by the Wikimedia Foundation in 2025, has nearly 260,000 volunteer contributors, more than 300 languages, 65 million articles and more than 15 billion views a month worldwide. The Foundation also reported 776 million UK views in the preceding month. These figures are the Foundation’s own account, not findings in the judgment.
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What counts as a Category 1 service?
Ofcom’s published description of the 2025 threshold conditions says a regulated user-to-user service can meet the Category 1 user thresholds in either of two ways:
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|---|---|---|
| Large-service route | More than 34 million average monthly active UK users | The user-to-user part uses a content recommender system |
| Smaller-but-sharing route | More than 7 million average monthly active UK users | The service uses a recommender system and lets users forward or share regulated user-generated content with other users |
Meeting a numerical and functional threshold does not itself amount to an Ofcom categorisation decision. Ofcom must assess the relevant service and apply the legal framework.
The unresolved question about Wikipedia’s features
The judgment discussed a possible interpretive issue involving tools used by Wikipedia’s volunteer moderators. The New Pages Feed helps reviewers find newly created pages and assess their quality. The court raised, but did not answer, questions about whether such a tool was used by the Foundation, whether it formed part of the regulated user-to-user service and whether it changed how ordinary users encountered content.
The court therefore did not decide that a moderation tool was a recommender system, nor that Wikipedia had a forwarding or sharing function of the kind relevant to the threshold. Those issues remained for the regulatory process.
What the judge said about protecting Wikipedia
Although the challenge failed, the judgment placed an important limit on what the result meant. Mr Justice Johnson said the dismissal “does not give Ofcom and the Secretary of State a green light to implement a regime that would significantly impede Wikipedia’s operations.” The Guardian also reported the judge describing Wikipedia as providing “significant value for freedom of speech and expression.”
A future Category 1 decision would need to be justified as proportionate in light of Convention rights, including freedom of expression. The judgment left open the possibility of a further public-law challenge if Ofcom categorised Wikipedia in a way that prevented it operating as it did.
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Wikipedia’s regulatory status in 2026
On 10 July 2026, the Wikimedia Foundation reported that Ofcom had told it Wikipedia was “not currently deemed a Category 1 service.” The Foundation also said Ofcom would keep Wikipedia on a watch list of services that do not currently qualify but could become Category 1 after reassessment.
Ofcom distinguishes between services that have been categorised and services on its emerging Category 1 list. Its register states that emerging-list services do not yet have the Act’s additional Category 1 duties. Wikipedia appears on that emerging list with a 34 million monthly active UK-user threshold condition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Answers to the main reader questions
Why did Wikipedia lose its UK Online Safety Act case?
It lost because the High Court rejected its legal challenge to the threshold regulations. The court did not rule that Wikipedia was Category 1; it ruled that the challenged regulations could stand, subject to rights-compatible interpretation and later Ofcom decision-making.
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Will Wikipedia have to verify UK users?
Not because of this judgment. The ruling imposed no identity-checking requirement. The Foundation raised verification as a potential concern, but Wikipedia’s current obligations depend on Ofcom’s categorisation and any legally valid duties that follow.
Did the High Court exempt Wikipedia?
No. The court neither granted an exemption nor declared Wikipedia outside the Online Safety Act. It warned that implementation could not significantly impede Wikipedia and left Ofcom to conduct the status assessment.
Can Wikimedia challenge Ofcom again?
The judgment indicated that a further public-law challenge could be available if an Ofcom decision were unlawful or imposed a regime that prevented Wikipedia operating as it did. The Wikimedia Foundation said on 12 September 2025 that it would not appeal the High Court’s dismissal itself.
Quick Recap
Keep these distinctions clear
| Question | Correct position |
|---|---|
| What did the court decide? | It dismissed a challenge to the Category 1 threshold regulations. |
| Did it decide Wikipedia’s category? | No. Ofcom was responsible for that assessment. |
| Is Wikipedia currently Category 1? | Ofcom notified Wikimedia in July 2026 that it was not currently deemed Category 1. |
| Is Wikipedia on an Ofcom list? | Yes. It appears on the emerging Category 1 list and therefore does not yet have the additional Category 1 duties. |
| Did the judgment require user verification? | No. |
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