Reddit Fined £14.5M by UK Watchdog for Children's Data Mishandling

Storyboard•25-02-2026, 15:01

•UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined Reddit £14.5 million (nearly USD 20 million) for mishandling children's personal data.
•Reddit collected and used personal data of children under 13 without lawful grounds, allowing minors to access content without proper consent.
•A key failure identified was Reddit's lack of effective age verification until July 2025, despite its policy barring users under 13.
•The ICO stated that Reddit's 'self-declaration' age verification is easily bypassed and will continue monitoring the platform.
•Reddit plans to appeal the decision, arguing that collecting more personal information for age verification goes against user privacy.

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