Imgur founder.
An image hosting platform with more than 130 million users has stopped being available in the UK after regulators signalled their intention to impose penalties over concerns around children’s data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that it has reached provisional findings in an investigation in the parent company of image hosting site, Imgur. Its probe was launched earlier this year, as part of the regulator's Children’s Code strategy, which is intended to set the standards for how online services handle the personal information of young people. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT In a statement the ICO said: “We are aware of reports that the social media platform Imgur is currently not available in the UK. Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company.”
Tim Capel, the ICO’s Interim Executive Director for Regulatory Supervision, said that the regulator had now issued a notice of intent to fine. He said: “We reached our provisional findings on this investigation, and we issued a notice of intent to impose a monetary penalty on MediaLab on 10 September 2025. “Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty.” Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT The ICO also confirmed that companies could not avoid accountability by withdrawing their services in the UK. Mr Capel said: “We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation 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.”
He added that protecting young people’s information remains a central focus: “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.” Regulators did not disclose the potential size of the penalty for specific breaches it has identified. Under UK law, the “notice of intent” process gives the company an opportunity to make representations before any final decision is made. Imgur, founded in 2009 and acquired by Los Angeles-based MediaLab AI Inc in 2021, is an image hosting and sharing site popular for memes, viral content and online communities. It’s services appeared to become unavailable in the UK last night. Imgur was approached for comment.
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