Imgur no longer available in the UK
Image-hosting service Imgur is currently blocking UK users from accessing its content. The move comes after regulators threatened to impose fines on the company.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is unhappy with how Imgur – and its parent company MediaLab – handles children’s data. The ICO had conducted investigations into various technology firms as it checked their compliance with online safety laws.
Imgur had been criticized for failing to check the age of users when signing up for accounts. The ICO said that: “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.”
While Imgur will be hoping that simply pulling out of the UK will be enough, the ICO thinks differently:
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.
Tim Capel, ICO Interim Executive Director - Regulatory Supervision, says that the focus has always been on keeping children safe:
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.
Imgur has posted a notice about the fact that its service can no longer be accessed in the UK:
From September 30, 2025, access to Imgur from the United Kingdom is no longer available. 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.
You can exercise your data protection rights without logging in (for example, to request a copy of your data or deletion) using our Help Center request form.
We may request information to verify your identity and will respond within the time limits set by UK data protection law.
We may continue to process limited personal data where necessary and lawful, for example, to comply with legal obligations and to establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Information about how long we keep data and how we process it is available in our Privacy Policy.
If you have questions, please contact us via our Support request form.
Image credit: Ralf Liebhold / Dreamstime.com