After announcement of fine: Imgur no longer available in the UK

Days after the British data protection authority announced a fine against the image platform Imgur, it has blocked access for users from the UK. This was announced by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); Imgur itself has not yet issued a statement. The platform merely explains on a help page that people from the UK have not been able to log in, view content, or upload images since yesterday, Tuesday. The drastic step was preceded by an investigation by the ICO into child protection on Imgur and other online services.

No special protection for children

When the data protection watchdog announced the investigation in the spring, it was stated that it would examine whether Imgur complied with British law. Reddit and TikTok were also scrutinized. Among other things, this involved the question of how the platforms determine the age of users, as this is a key prerequisite for implementing measures to protect children. At the time, it was stated that no age check is carried out when setting up an account on Imgur and that this is not determined in any other way. This is another reason why children are shown adverts and there is no special protection for underage profiles.

On 10 September, Imgur's parent company was informed that a fine would be imposed following the preliminary conclusion of the investigation, the ICO has now announced. However, the company, MediaLab, would have been heard before a final decision was made. However, this was not waited for, and access from the UK was blocked instead. This was a commercial decision by MediaLab. The BBC also points out that other services from the US company comply with the British age verification requirements and are therefore still available, including the messenger KIk.

(mho)