Reddit fined £14 million after company failed to use children’s personal information lawfully
A spokesperson for Reddit said the company intends to appeal against the decision to issue a fine.
Online discussion platform Reddit has been fined more than £14 million after the UK data watchdog said it had failed to protect children’s personal information.
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the failings meant children had potentially been exposed to inappropriate and harmful content.
The watchdog’s investigation found that Reddit had failed to check the age of users on its platform, which put children at risk.
It said the platform did not apply any “robust age assurance mechanism and therefore did not have a lawful basis for processing the personal information of children under the age of 13”.
The ICO warned Reddit that relying on users to declare their age had posed risks to children, “as it is easy to bypass”.
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John Edwards, UK information commissioner, said: “It’s concerning that a company the size of Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children.
“Children under 13 had their personal information collected and used in ways they could not understand, consent to or control.
“That left them potentially exposed to content they should not have seen. This is unacceptable and has resulted in today’s fine.”
He added: “Let me be clear. Companies operating online services likely to be accessed by children have a responsibility to protect those children by ensuring they’re not exposed to risks through the way their data is used.”
A spokesperson for Reddit said the company intends to appeal against the decision to issue a fine.