UK regulator fines Reddit £14.5m over children's data

The Information Commissioner's Office has fined Reddit £14.5 million ($19.6 million) after finding the platform had "failed to apply any robust age assurance mechanism and therefore did not have a lawful basis for processing the personal information of children under the age of 13." Reddit says it will appeal the ruling.

The ICO said Reddit "failed to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) to assess and mitigate risks to children before January 2025," and that those failures meant the site was using children’s data unlawfully, "potentially exposing them to inappropriate and harmful content." Reddit introduced "age assurance measures" in July 2025, including age verification for mature content and asking users to declare their age when opening an account, but the regulator warned that self-declaration "presents risks to children as it is easy to bypass" and will keep the platform's processing under review.

United Kingdom

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