Reddit has been fined £14.5 million in the UK after regulators said the platform failed to properly verify users’ ages and unlawfully processed children’s personal data.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- The UK Information Commissioner’s Office fined Reddit £14.47 million for unlawfully using children’s personal data and weak age checks.
- Regulators said children under 13 were able to access Reddit, risking exposure to harmful content.
- Reddit used third party provider Persona for age checks, while Discord faced backlash for a similar test and says it no longer uses Persona.
- The case lands as countries like Australia and Spain look at tougher rules for minors online.
What Happened?
The UK privacy regulator has fined Reddit more than £14 million after finding the company did not apply robust age assurance measures and unlawfully processed children’s data. The watchdog said these gaps increased the risk of young users seeing content that was not suitable for them.
NEW: We’ve fined Reddit £14.47 million for failing to use children’s information lawfully.
— ICO – Information Commissioner’s Office (@ICOnews) February 24, 2026
Read more: https://t.co/gXDGnBtYq5 pic.twitter.com/JQVOs6qJTU
Why the UK Regulator Came Down on Reddit
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office, known as the ICO, said Reddit did not have a reliable way to confirm the ages of people accessing the platform. That matters because Reddit’s own rules do not allow children under 13, and UK law expects services likely to be accessed by children to take active steps to protect them.
According to the regulator, Reddit’s failures included not applying a robust age assurance mechanism, meaning it did not have a lawful basis to process the data of children under 13. The ICO also said Reddit did not carry out a proper data protection impact assessment that assesses and reduces risks to children until later than it should have.
John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, said:
The ICO described the case as its largest fine tied to children’s privacy issues.
Reddit’s Age Checks and the Persona Problem
One of the biggest flashpoints in the story is Reddit’s use of a third party age verification provider called Persona. The idea was to confirm age through an uploaded selfie or a photo of a government ID, without Reddit itself keeping direct identity details.
Reddit has argued that it chose this route because it does not want to have first hand knowledge of users’ identities, framing it as a privacy focused decision.
But regulators said the checks still were not good enough. The concern was not just that the system existed, but that it did not stop large numbers of children from being treated as adults, which then meant the platform could be processing children’s data unlawfully.
A separate report also noted that Reddit only introduced more effective age checks in July 2025, leaving a long gap where younger users could slip through and potentially see content meant for adults.
Discord’s Backlash Shows How Sensitive Age Verification Has Become
Reddit is not the only platform facing heat linked to Persona. Discord also used the same provider and quickly ran into anger from users who questioned how face scans and ID uploads might be handled.
Much of the criticism focused on Persona’s privacy policy language that suggests it may obtain personal data through third party databases, government records, and other public sources. Users accused Discord of being unclear about what the process involved and how information could be verified.
Discord has since said it no longer uses Persona. Discord’s head of product policy, Savannah Badalich, said the company ran a limited test of Persona in the UK and that the test has now concluded.
A Wider Global Push to Limit Social Media for Kids
This Reddit fine lands at a moment when governments are clearly moving toward stricter controls for minors online. Countries including Australia and Spain have been tightening approaches to social media access for younger users, often citing concerns about mental health, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful material.
In the UK, the pressure is also rising because the Online Safety Act places responsibilities on online services to prevent children from seeing harmful content, and age assurance is becoming one of the main tools regulators expect platforms to use.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I get why platforms hate the idea of collecting more identity data, and I actually agree that forcing everyone to upload an ID is a messy path. But Reddit cannot claim it protects privacy while also letting kids slide into adult spaces with weak checks. If you build a platform that is clearly attractive to teens, you do not get to shrug and say users should self report their age. The UK is basically telling every big platform, prove you know who is a child and act like it, or pay the price. And honestly, that is overdue.
