4Chan being investigated by UK officials under new online safety rules

4Chan, an online forum notorious for its extreme content, is being investigated by UK officials over its failure to comply with new internet safety rules. 

Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, said it had received complaints about potential illegal content on 4Chan, as it announced nine new investigations into sites that may have broken new rules.

A porn site and seven file sharing websites are also being investigated.

Under the new Online Safety Act, porn sites must develop strict age verification processes for users.

Websites where people can see content shared by others, like 4Chan or social media, need to assess the risk of UK users encountering illegal content on their platforms.

Read more: What is the Online Safety Bill?

4Chan has not submitted any such assessment, according to the regulator.

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The seven file-sharing services have also been reported for the possible sharing of child sexual abuse material.

Ofcom is also investigating whether porn site First Time Videos appropriately vets the age of its users.

By July, sites hosting age-restricted content must have a "robust" age verification process in place.

Read more from Sky News:
Children 'blackmailed into stripping for strangers'
More children than ever are not in school
Parents 'excusing poor behaviour'

The rules have faced criticism from campaigners in the past for not going far enough.

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Mariano Janin, whose teenage daughter Mia killed herself after being bullied online, told Sky News in April that the new rules are "too small, too little, too slow".

In Australia, officials have taken dramatic action to try and deal with online harms for young people, and from December, under-16s will be banned from social media.

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In April, 4Chan suffered a major cyber attack that was described to Sky News as a "digital turf war" between criminals.

Although the website is back online, some elements have been disabled.