Reddit has been fined more than £14m by the Information Commissioner’s Office for failing to keep children safe.
This is the largest fine ever imposed by the information watchdog on children’s privacy issues.
The data protection watchdog’s investigation found that the American company used children’s information illegally.
A statement from the ICO said Reddit’s failings included not checking the age of users accessing its platform, putting young people at risk.
It said Reddit failed to:
• Implement any robust age assurance mechanisms and therefore have no lawful grounds for processing the personal information of children under 13 years of age.
• Conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) before January 2025 to assess and reduce the risks to children.
UK Information Commissioner John Edwards said: “It is concerning that a company like Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children.
“The personal information of children under 13 was collected and used in ways they could not understand, consent to or control. This potentially exposed them to content they should not have seen. This is unacceptable and has resulted in a fine being imposed today.
“Let me be clear. Companies operating online services that are accessed by children have a responsibility to protect those children by ensuring they do not face risk through the way their data is used. To do this, they need to be confident that they know the age of their users and have appropriate, effective age assurance measures in place.
“Reddit failed to meet these expectations. They must perform better, and we are continuing to consider the age assurance controls now implemented by the platform.
“Relying on users to disclose their age is not enough when children may be at risk, and we are now focusing on companies that are predominantly using this method. So I encourage the industry to take note, consider their practices and make any necessary improvements to their platforms immediately.”
Reddit told Sky News it intends to appeal the ICO’s decision.
“Reddit does not require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and security,” a Reddit spokesperson said.
“The ICO’s insistence that we collect more personal information about every UK user is counter-intuitive and contrary to our firm belief in the online privacy and security of our users.”
Earlier this month, Imgur owner MediaLab was fined £250,000 for similar issues.
In 2023, TikTok had to pay a £12.7m fine, reduced from a £27m fine following negotiations over the ICO.
This breaking news story is being updated, and more details will be published soon.
