Reddit fined £14m by UK data watchdog over age check failings

Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the UK's data watchdog for unlawfully using children's personal information.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the platform failed to properly check the age of its users, putting children at risk of being exposed to inappropriate and harmful content online.

"It's concerning that a company the size of Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children," said John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner.

In a statement, Reddit said it "didn't require users to share information about their identities, regardless of age, because we are deeply committed to their privacy and safety."

But the ICO said the platform relied on asking users to declare their age when opening an account - a technique it said was "easy to bypass".

The regulator added companies operating online services likely to be accessed by children had a responsibility to protect them, including by making sure the way children's data was collected and used did not expose them to risks.

"To do this, they need to be confident they know the age of their users and have appropriate, effective age assurance measures in place," said Mr Edwards.

"Reddit failed to meet these expectations."

The regulator said the platform "must do better", adding it was continuing to consider the age assurance controls it had since implemented.

A Reddit spokesperson said: "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."

They added that the company intends to appeal the decision.