No ID, No Memes? Reddit Rolls Out Age Verification in the UK

Reddit – home to everything from skincare dupe recommendations to deep-dive conspiracy theories – is tightening the gates in the UK. From 14 July, the site began verifying users’ ages using selfies or official ID, in a bid to comply with the UK’s new Online Safety Act. The law, which officially kicks in on 25 July, demands “robust” age checks on sites showing mature content – and yes, that includes those racy subreddits.

The new checks will be handled by Persona, a third-party company tasked with verifying your age using either a government ID (like your passport) or a selfie. Reddit insists it won’t actually see the images – just your verification status and date of birth, which will be stored so you don’t have to reprove your age every time you fancy a scroll through more mature threads.

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And if you’re side-eyeing the idea of your passport selfie floating around somewhere, Reddit says Persona promises not to hang onto that data for longer than seven days. The platform also reassures users that Persona won’t get access to your Reddit activity. Phew.

So why now? According to a spokesperson from UK regulator Ofcom: “Society has long protected youngsters from products that aren’t suitable for them, from alcohol to smoking or gambling. Now, children will be better protected from online material that’s not appropriate for them, while adults’ rights to access legal content are preserved.”

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But not everyone is sold. Scott Babwah Brennen, director of the Center on Technology Policy at New York University, pointed out the obvious: “There’s always going to be ways that kids can get around it and there’s always going to be concerns about who’s collecting personal or sensitive information, and how long are they holding it.” Fair.

David Greene, civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, went one step further, calling the law “a real tragedy”. “UK users can no longer use the internet without having to provide their papers, as it were,” he said, adding he was disappointed Reddit hadn’t challenged the law in court.

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Reddit isn’t alone, either. Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, has confirmed it’s rolling out similar age-assurance measures, though details are still under wraps.

Still, platforms that don’t fall in line risk some serious penalties – including fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global turnover (yikes), and even the possibility of being blocked in the UK altogether.