A common theme in online age verification laws is the tension between user privacy and preventing children from accessing harmful or inappropriate content. Now the UK is sending a not-so-subtle message to Reddit on the subject, to the tune of £14.5m ($19.6 million). The nation's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) accused the company of using children’s data and potentially exposing them to inappropriate content.
“Children under 13 had their personal information collected and used in ways they could not understand, consent to or control,” UK Information Commissioner John Edwards wrote in a statement. “That left them potentially exposed to content they should not have seen. This is unacceptable and has resulted in today’s fine.”
In July 2025, Reddit began requiring age verification to access adult content in the UK, in compliance with the Online Safety Act. However, that's only used to block under-18 users from sexually explicit, violent or other mature posts. The platform also prohibits users under 13 from accessing it altogether — and enforcement of that policy is lax. It merely requires users to declare, when signing up, that they're over 13. The ICO (accurately) described the method as "easy to bypass."
In its defense, Reddit told the BBC that it "didn't require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety." The company said it would appeal the decision. "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," the spokesperson added.
"It's concerning that a company the size of Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children," Edwards said. "Companies operating online services likely to be accessed by children have a responsibility to protect those children by ensuring they’re not exposed to risks through the way their data is used. To do this, they need to be confident they know the age of their users and have appropriate, effective age assurance measures in place.”
“Reddit failed to meet these expectations,” he added. “They must do better, and we are continuing to consider the age assurance controls now implemented by the platform.” The ICO also accused Reddit of failing to conduct a data protection impact assessment by January 2025.
The Guardian notes that the £14.5m fine is the third-largest handed down by the ICO. It trails only a £20m fine for British Airways involving a data breach disclosure and an £18.4m penalty for Marriott Hotels for exposing over 300 million customer records in a hack.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-fined-196-million-over-age-verification-checks-in-the-uk-173705048.html?src=rss
