Social media platform Reddit has been fined by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for not age-checking users aggressively enough. Post July 2025, when age checks were forced into law for certain websites by the UK government, Reddit did impose age checks on its users. However, the fine, which amounts to £14.5 million ($19.6 million), is based on findings which were made prior to this rollout.
"Our investigation found that Reddit 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... These failures meant Reddit was using children's data unlawfully, potentially exposing them to inappropriate and harmful content," said the ICO press release (via ArsTechnica).
Reddit will appeal the fine and in turn critiqued ICO for asking more collection of private information. "Reddit doesn't require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety," said Reddit in a statement. "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."
Even though Reddit already has taken action to ensure users viewing any adult content on the site are over the age of 18, ICO believes the social media should go further with these checks. "The ICO informed Reddit that relying on self-declaration presents risks to children as it is easy to bypass. The regulator is keeping Reddit's processing of children's personal information under review as part of on-going work focusing on online platforms that primarily rely on self-declaration—an area of focus for the ICO, as set out in its December 2025 children's privacy progress update," reads ICO's report.
Where do you lie in this ICO v Reddit debate?