The UK’s data watchdog has described Imgur’s move to block UK users as “a commercial decision” after signaling plans to fine parent company MediaLab.

It opened an investigation into various companies, including TikTok and Reddit, in March, focused on how these major platforms handle children’s data and verify their ages, which led to issuing a notice of intent to fine MediaLab in September.

The Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) interim executive director, Tim Capel, said on Tuesday that its findings from the investigation were provisional, and the regulator would consider any evidence presented by MediaLab before proceeding with a fine.

Capel also hinted that even if Imgur continues to block UK users, the ICO may still seek to penalize its parent company.

He stated: “We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organization to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing.

“This update has been provided to give clarity on our investigation, and we will not be providing any further detail at this time.

“Safeguarding children’s personal information is a key priority for the ICO, and our Children’s code strategy outlines our key interventions in this area. Keeping children safe online is the responsibility of the companies offering online services to them and we will continue to hold them to account.”

When opening its investigation into Imgur, Reddit, and TikTok, the ICO never said that it was in relation to the controversial Online Safety Act.

The bill was passed in 2023, but regulatory duties began on March 17 this year, and in-scope platforms had until July 25 to implement mandatory age assurance mechanisms.

Soon after deadline day, a flurry of stories emerged as Brits found themselves either having to prove their age to access their favorite sites, or like many others did, abusing the workarounds available to them, which included VPNs and face scans of video game characters.

The ICO said the investigation was instead related to its Children’s code strategy, which it first published in 2021.

Results of related investigations have led to platforms shoring up their default privacy and geolocation settings, disabling targeted ads for under-18s, and reviewing their recommender systems.

Platforms that have made changes following ICO probes include BeReal, Dailymotion, Twitch, Viber, Vimeo, and X, among others.

Fruitlab, a blockchain-based social network that rewards users for playing video games, is the only other platform subject to these investigations that has refused to comply and later exited the UK as a result.

Imgur exit?

The Register contacted MediaLab, requesting more information about its stance and the blocking of UK users, but it did not respond.

Whether the company permanently revokes UK access to Imgur is unanswered. For more than 24 hours now, Brits have been unable to access the site or Imgur-hosted content posted to other platforms.

Before Imgur published a dedicated page related to the block, attempts to visit Imgur in the UK were met with a 400 error page.

It now states that “content is not available in your region,” and links to a brief explainer.

“From September 30, 2025, access to Imgur from the United Kingdom is no longer available,” the page reads. 

“UK users will not be able to log in, view content, or upload images. Imgur content embedded on third-party sites will not display for UK users.”

Users and former users can still request copies of their data, or delete it and their accounts, under UK GDPR, via the platform’s Help Center.

It also stated that all requests would be fulfilled in line with the time limits set out by UK data protection law, although it may still process limited personal data “where necessary and lawful,” which may include scenarios such as defending legal claims. ®