Tech giants Google and Elon Musk’s X have warned that Britain’s new online safety laws could force global companies to reconsider their UK presence due to high compliance costs and regulatory overreach.

The Online Safety Act, which was passed under Rishi Sunak’s government, imposed strict rules requiring major platforms to introduce age verification and stop harmful content.

It announced potential fines of up to 10 per cent of annual revenue for non-compliance, which will soon take effect.

It also formed new criminal offences like cyber-flashing, sharing illegal images, and spreading harmful disinformation.

To enforce the law, the UK regulator Ofcom has proposed raising £70m annually by charging the largest tech firms with fees equating to 0.02 per cent of their global revenue.

This includes Meta, Google, Microsoft, Apple and TikTok.

Companies have argued that the fee structure is excessive, as it applies to global income, rather than UK-based earnings alone.

Google warned that the approach risks “stifling UK growth”, and could force companies to either scale back services or drive them out of the UK.