Ofcom says it fined Meta £450,000 over inaccurate WhatsApp Business information

Britain's media regulator, Ofcom, said on Thursday that it had fined Meta £450,000.

According to Ofcom, the fine was for providing inaccurate information about Meta's WhatsApp Business service. The regulator said Meta gave this information in response to requests Ofcom made as part of its telecoms market review.

Reuters and the South China Morning Post (SCMP) both reported the fine. Reuters gives it as $596,565. SCMP gives it as about US$597,000. Neither report says where its dollar figure comes from, but the two figures are consistent with each other.

The headlines of both reports describe the inaccuracies as "repeated". The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not say how many inaccurate submissions there were.

Background

According to SCMP, Ofcom reviewed the market for business bulk SMS text messages in 2025. SCMP said the aim was to better understand the services available to businesses.

SCMP also reported that in 2025, Ofcom sought information about WhatsApp for Business, including messaging volumes and revenues.

What each side says

Ofcom: The regulator says Meta provided inaccurate information about WhatsApp Business in response to its information requests. It says it fined the company £450,000 for this. The reports paraphrase Ofcom's statement and do not quote it directly.

Meta: The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include any response from Meta.

What is not known

The reports do not describe:

• what the inaccuracies were, how many there were, or how they were identified;
• the legal basis for the penalty or how Ofcom set the amount;
• whether the inaccuracies affected the outcome of Ofcom's market review;
• whether Meta intends to challenge or appeal the fine.

The SCMP report reviewed by Vocemundi ends mid-sentence, after the words "The regulator said Meta had". Any further details from Ofcom's statement in that report are therefore not available.

About the reports

Reuters and SCMP do not credit each other. However, their opening sentences are nearly identical, which suggests a possible common origin. Both rely on the same Ofcom announcement.

Analysis

The case concerns the accuracy of information given to a regulator, not a finding about how WhatsApp Business operates in the market. Regulators depend on accurate data from companies when they assess markets. Penalties of this kind can signal how strictly a regulator treats information requests. Several questions remain open. Meta's response is not in the reports, and it is not known whether the company will contest the fine. It is also unclear whether the inaccuracies affected Ofcom's review of business messaging. Further statements from Ofcom or Meta could clarify the nature of the errors and any wider consequences.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.