TikTok, Reddit and Imgur Face UK Child Data Probe After Twitch and X Forced to Tighten Policies

• TikTok, Reddit and Imgur are being investigated by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office.
• The data protection watchdog is probing how platforms collect and process minors’ data.
• Several platforms, including Twitch, BeReal and X, have already agreed to make changes.

TikTok, Reddit and Imgur are being investigated by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office as part of a wider assessment of how social media platforms use children’s data.

Other platforms have already made or agreed to implement changes at the watchdog’s request, including BeReal, Twitch and X.”

Privacy Watchdog Investigates Reddit, TikTok and Imgur

The ICO announced separate investigations into TikTok, Reddit and Imgur on Monday, March 3.

The probes will focus on how these platforms collect, store, and use the data of minors and whether the companies have the necessary protections in place to prevent harm.

TikTok, with its large base of younger users, has been particularly under the spotlight.

The company’s data practices have raised concerns regarding the potential targeting of children with personalized ads and content that may not be age-appropriate.

The ICO’s investigation is investigating TikTok’s recommendation system and whether it “could lead to young people being served inappropriate or harmful content.”

Meanwhile, probes into Reddit and Imgur “are considering how the platforms use U.K. children’s personal information and their use of age assurance measures.”

ICO Cracks Down on Children’s Data Processing

The ICO’s latest investigations are part of its concerted effort to clamp down on how platforms process the personal information of minors.

Under the U.K.’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ICO’s Age Appropriate Design Code, companies that handle children’s personal information have extra obligations to ensure privacy and prevent harm.

The ICO’s crackdown has been prompted by concerns over the excessive collection of children’s personal data without proper safeguards and the potential for this data to be misused, particularly in advertising and profiling.

Although the regulator has opened formal probes into TikTok Reddit and Imgur, it has requested policy changes from over a dozen platform operators in the name of minors’ online safety.

Platforms Agree to Enhance Privacy for Young Users

Under pressure from the ICO, more than a dozen platforms have already taken steps to enhance privacy for their younger users.

For instance, BeReal has stopped processing children’s precise geolocation data. This means that those under 18 now only have the option of including approximate city-level locations when posting.

Meanwhile, Twitch has committed to changing the default settings for teen users in the U.K. to ensure that young streamers can’t make or share clips (Twitch’s TikTok-style short video format) by default.

For its part, X has stopped serving ads to users under the age of 18 years and removed the ability for them to opt-in to geolocation sharing.

As for Discord, the ICO said that “compliance discussions [are] ongoing,” with the platform arguing that its existing child protection measures are sufficient.

Many of these changes come at a direct cost for platforms as they risk lowering engagement and reducing advertising revenue. However, against the backdrop of an ongoing regulatory crackdown, social media platforms may feel pressure to comply.