LONDON — Britain’s data privacy watchdog slapped on-line discussion board Reddit on Tuesday with a fine value practically $20 million for failures involving youngsters’s private data.
The Data Commissioner’s Workplace mentioned it issued the penalty value 14.5 million kilos as a result of the failures resulted within the platform utilizing youngsters’s data “unlawfully.”
“Youngsters beneath 13 had their private data collected and utilized in methods they may not perceive, consent to or management. That left them probably uncovered to content material they need to not have seen,” mentioned Data Commissioner John Edwards. “That is unacceptable and has resulted in in the present day’s fine.”
The U.Okay. privacy regulator has been escalating scrutiny of on-line platforms over child safety. Earlier this month it hit MediaLab, proprietor of image-sharing web site Imgur, with a 247,590 pound fine over related failures and it has additionally been investigating TikTok since final yr.
The watchdog took challenge with Reddit’s age verification measures. It mentioned that although the platform would not permit youngsters beneath 13 to make use of its service, it did not have any solution to examine the ages of its customers earlier than July 2025.
Edwards mentioned on-line platforms which are more likely to be accessed by youngsters are liable for defending them by ensuring they’re not uncovered to any dangers “by the best way their data is used.” They’ll do that with “efficient age assurance measures,” he mentioned.
Reddit rolled out age verification measures in July 2025 to ensure that customers to entry mature content material, together with asking them to declare their age when establishing an account.
However the watchdog mentioned “self-declaration” is simple to bypass and that it instructed Reddit it might proceed to observe the platform’s dealing with of kids’s data.
Reddit mentioned it might enchantment the choice.
“Reddit doesn’t require customers to share details about their identities, no matter age, as a result of we’re deeply dedicated to their privacy and safety,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement. “The ICO’s insistence that we accumulate extra personal data on each UK person is counterintuitive and at odds with our robust perception in our customers’ on-line privacy and safety.”
This text was generated from an automatic information company feed with out modifications to textual content.
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