DPhil candidate Christian Bale helps Ofcom defeat US lawsuit

Robert Kry and Oxford Law DPhil candidate Christian Bale, both attorneys at the US litigation boutique MoloLamken LLP, have secured the dismissal of a high-profile lawsuit against the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The plaintiffs, 4chan Community Support LLC and Lolcow LLC, two American internet companies, claimed that Ofcom had violated their rights under the US Constitution by investigating them for potential violations of the Online Safety Act 2023.

In a Memorandum Opinion issued on 15 September 2026, Judge Rudolph Contreras held that Ofcom was immune from suit under the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and dismissed the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Court found that Ofcom’s core functions of issuing regulations, investigating breaches of UK law, and enforcing the law are “quintessential government functions,” and that its conduct towards the plaintiffs was “classic regulator, and thus sovereign, behavior”.

The decision sheds light on how US courts will treat challenges to the overseas reach of the UK’s online safety regime. In the Court’s words, the plaintiffs sought “to use American courts as a sword against Ofcom rather than as a shield to protect themselves”.

Christian Bale is a DPhil candidate at the Faculty of Law and Oriel College. He researches constitutional law and legal history under the supervision of Dr Paul Yowell.

Christian said: “Oxford has given me the chance to study the constitutional and historical ties between the British and American legal traditions, and to build lasting professional connections in the UK. Both have positioned me well to litigate cross-border matters like this one.”