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13:42 GMT
LONDON, Feb 24 (KUNA) - The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), a UK government-sponsored body, fined Reddit GBP 14.47 million for failing to protect children from harmful content and material online.
In a statement, the ICO's head John Edwards said, "It's concerning that a company the size of Reddit failed in its legal duty to protect the personal information of UK children."
Edwards stressed that the company must not allow children to bypass its age verification when creating an account, a step that should adhere to the 2023 Online Safety Act (OSA).
"They need to be confident they know the age of their users and have appropriate, effective age assurance measures in place," said Edwards.
In response, 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."
A spokesperson for the platform added, "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, " affirming that Reddit will appeal the decision.
In early January, the UK considered a social media ban for under-16s, a step which was formally undertaken by Australia, which became the first country to formally ban children under 16 from using social media platforms in late 2025. (end)
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