UK ICO Fines Reddit £14.47 Million Over Children’s Age Checks and Data Use
Summary
The UK ICO fined Reddit £14.47 million, finding that self-declared ages and inadequate safeguards led to unlawful processing of under-13s’ data and a missing DPIA; Reddit plans to appeal.
Key points
- The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Reddit £14.47 million over its handling of children’s personal data.
- The ICO said Reddit relied on self-declared ages when users opened accounts, which children could easily bypass.
- The regulator found Reddit unlawfully processed the personal data of children under 13 and had not completed a data protection impact assessment before January 2025.
- Reddit introduced stronger age checks for mature content in July 2025, but the ICO said account registration still relied on self-declaration.
- Reddit plans to appeal and argued that requiring more identity information from UK users conflicts with its privacy position.
- The ICO said the fine reflected the number of children affected, harm, the duration of the failures and Reddit’s global turnover; it said enforcement of children’s privacy rules would continue.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Regulatory enforcement and fine for inadequate age assurance and unlawful processing of children’s personal data.
- Impact
- The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office fined Reddit £14.47 million, saying it relied on self-declared ages and unlawfully collected and used the personal data of children under 13. The ICO also found that Reddit had not completed a data protection impact assessment before January 2025; it said the failures potentially exposed children to inappropriate and harmful content.
People
Products
ImgurThe ICO said Reddit relied on self-declaration, lacked a data protection impact assessment, and will continue enforcing the Age Appropriate Design Code with similar actions already taken against Imgur;RedditInformation Commissioner’s Office fined Reddit £14.47 million for failing to properly verify the ages of child users and for unlawfully processing personal data of users under 13.