The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has levied a £14.47 million fine against Reddit for breaches relating to the handling of children’s personal information, the regulator said in a statement. The ICO concluded that Reddit did not implement effective age verification practices until July 2025 and later relied on users to self-declare their ages.
According to the ICO, the platform’s reliance on self-declaration after bringing in age checks was not sufficiently robust to safeguard minors. The regulator judged that this approach failed to meet legal obligations intended to protect children’s personal data.
The size of the penalty reflects several factors the commissioner considered in reaching its decision. Among those were the number of children whose data were implicated by the failings, the possible degree of harm that could arise from the shortcomings, the period during which those failures persisted, and Reddit’s global turnover. The ICO’s statement emphasized that all of these elements informed the final fine amount.
The action against Reddit is presented by the regulator as part of continuing enforcement activity directed at social media companies on matters of child safety and data protection compliance. The ICO framed the fine as consistent with efforts to hold platforms accountable where safeguards for children’s information are found wanting.
Clear summary
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has imposed a £14.47 million penalty on Reddit for not lawfully handling children’s personal information. The regulator found age verification was not implemented until July 2025 and judged Reddit’s later use of self-declaration inadequate. The fine was calculated based on the scale of affected children, potential harm, the duration of the failures, and Reddit’s global turnover. The case is described as part of broader enforcement targeting social media firms on child safety and data compliance.
Key points
- ICO issued a £14.47 million fine to Reddit for unlawful handling of children's data.
- Regulator found no age-verification measures until July 2025 and criticized reliance on self-declaration thereafter.
- Penalty size was determined by the number of children impacted, potential harm, duration of failures, and Reddit's global turnover.
- Sectors impacted include social media platforms and the broader data protection and tech regulatory landscape.
Risks and uncertainties
- Regulatory enforcement risk for social media companies over child safety and data protection compliance, as illustrated by the ICO action.
- Operational and compliance uncertainty stemming from the finding that self-declared age checks were not robust enough to protect minors.
- Financial exposure linked to penalty calculations that consider affected user numbers, potential harm, duration of non-compliance, and company turnover.