Reddit Fined £14.5M by UK Watchdog for Children's Data Mishandling

• UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fined Reddit £14.5 million (nearly USD 20 million) for mishandling children's personal data.
• Reddit collected and used personal data of children under 13 without lawful grounds, allowing minors to access content without proper consent.
• A key failure identified was Reddit's lack of effective age verification until July 2025, despite its policy barring users under 13.
• The ICO stated that Reddit's 'self-declaration' age verification is easily bypassed and will continue monitoring the platform.
• Reddit plans to appeal the decision, arguing that collecting more personal information for age verification goes against user privacy.