UK fines Reddit $19 million for using children’s data unlawfully

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Reddit £14.47 million (over $19.5 million) for collecting and using the personal information of children under 13 without adequate safeguards.

As the ICO explained in a Tuesday press release, Reddit failed to implement a meaningful age-verification system on its platform until July 2025, even though its own terms of service prohibited users under 13.

The data protection regulator also estimates that a significant number of underage children were using the social media platform before July 2025 and that Reddit processed their data without a lawful basis and potentially exposed them to harmful content.

In July 2025, Reddit implemented age assurance measures, including an age verification system for accessing mature content and a self-declaration prompt for new accounts. However, the ICO criticized them for failing to meet UK data protection standards and noted that children can easily bypass them.

“It’s concerning that a company the size of Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children. Children under 13 had their personal information collected and used in ways they could not understand, consent to or control. That left them potentially exposed to content they should not have seen. This is unacceptable and has resulted in today’s fine,” said UK Information Commissioner John Edwards.

“Relying on users to declare their age themselves is not enough when children may be at risk and we are focusing now on companies that are primarily using this method. I therefore strongly encourage industry to take note, reflect on their practices and urgently make any necessary improvements to their platforms.”

In a statement to BleepingComputer, a Reddit spokesperson said the company will appeal the ICO’s decision and that “according to external market research, the vast majority of Reddit users in the UK are adults.”

“Reddit doesn’t require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety,” the spokesperson added. “The ICO’s insistence that we collect more private information on every UK user is counterintuitive and at odds with our strong belief in our users’ online privacy and safety. We intend to appeal the ICO’s decision.”

Reddit says it has 121 million daily active users and over 471 million weekly active ones, spread across over 100,000 active communities.

This fine follows a similar penalty issued on February 5 against MediaLab, the owner of the image-sharing platform Imgur, over children’s privacy failures.

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