Who was sanctioned, and for what?

The ticket exchange did not include mandatory fees in the total price at the start of the purchasing process. By way of a final infringement notice, the CMA imposed a penalty of 889,200 GBP (including a 40 % settlement discount) and required the company to refund the mandatory fees.

Authority / court

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Misleading advertising and pricing

Legal basis

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Media and online platforms

Mitigating circumstances

Settlement with a 40 % discount and waiver of appeal.

Published

23 Jun 2026

Original amount 889,200 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jun 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The ICO fined Reddit, Inc. £14,472,500. The regulator found that the platform did not use any robust age assurance and therefore had no lawful basis for processing the personal data of children under 13. The ICO also found that Reddit had not carried out a data protection impact assessment on the risks to children before January 2025. The ICO found infringements of Articles 5(1)(a), 6, 8 and 35 UK GDPR.

Authority / court

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Area of law

Data protection

Legal basis

Art. 5(1)(a), 6, 8 und 35 UK GDPR; section 155 DPA 2018

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Media and online platforms

Original amount 14,472,500 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The ICO fined MediaLab.AI, Inc., which operated the Imgur platform in the UK until 30 September 2025, £247,590. The ICO found that Imgur admitted children under 13, stated to be under parental supervision, and relied on consent as its lawful basis, but it had no way of establishing users' ages and therefore of obtaining the required parental consent. The ICO therefore found there was no valid lawful basis and also found that no data protection impact assessment had been carried out (Articles 5(1)(a), 6, 8 and 35 UK GDPR).

Authority / court

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Area of law

Data protection

Legal basis

Art. 5(1)(a), 6, 8 und 35 UK GDPR; section 155(1)(a) DPA 2018

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Media and online platforms

Original amount 247,590 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The CMA objected that, during the Oasis presale, fans in the queue were not told that standing tickets were being sold at two price levels, and that "Platinum" tickets cost almost 2.5 times as much without it being adequately explained that they offered no added value compared with some standard tickets. Without admitting liability, Ticketmaster gave undertakings: advance notice of tiered pricing, price ranges in the queue, no misleading ticket descriptions and a two-year reporting obligation.

Authority / court

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Misleading advertising and pricing

Legal basis

Britisches Verbraucherschutzrecht (Verfahren nach den vor April 2025 geltenden Befugnissen; Verpflichtungszusagen)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Media and online platforms

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

Undertakings without admission of liability.

Published

25 Sep 2025

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

Sports broadcasters and production companies exchanged sensitive information in 15 instances about day rates and fee increases for freelance camera operators and sound technicians in order to coordinate pay. Fines: BT 1,738,453 GBP, IMG 1,737,820 GBP, BBC 424,165 GBP, ITV 339,918 GBP; Sky received immunity as the first to come forward.

Authority / court

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

Area of law

Competition law · Cartels and collusion

Legal basis

Chapter I Competition Act 1998

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Media and online platforms

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

20 % settlement discount for all; leniency discounts for BT, IMG, ITV; immunity for Sky

Published

21 Mar 2025

Original amount 4,240,356 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 21 Mar 2025.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

Google undertook to the CMA to improve the detection and removal of fake reviews, to ban repeat offenders worldwide, to place warnings on business profiles with manipulated reviews and deactivate their review function, and to set up simple reporting channels; the CMA will monitor implementation for three years.

Authority / court

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

Area of law

Consumer protection and online retail · Fake reviews

Legal basis

Britisches Verbraucherschutzrecht (Verpflichtungszusagen)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Media and online platforms

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

Voluntary undertakings without a fine.

Published

24 Jan 2025

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The ICO issued a reprimand to a UK online betting and gaming operator (part of an international gambling group). The ICO found that between January and March 2023 the operator's website set third-party advertising cookies on arrival and thus processed visitors' personal data before they had consented. The ICO found processing without a lawful basis and without valid consent.

Authority / court

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Area of law

Data protection · Cookies and tracking

Legal basis

Art. 5(1)(a), 6(1)(a) und 7(1) UK GDPR; Art. 58(2)(b) UK GDPR

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Media and online platforms

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 2 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The ICO issued a reprimand to a UK company operating a video platform; its case page lists the reprimand as issued. The published document, however, is worded as a provisional decision, referring to provisional findings and alleged infringements; the ICO has not published a version in final wording. As described by the ICO, around 14 August 2022 an unauthorised person got into the company's systems and copied the names, email addresses and passwords of 345,000 UK users; the company could not say exactly how this happened. The ICO provisionally criticised the company for being unable to show which security measures were in place at the time, or that it carried out regular penetration tests or vulnerability scans, and for relying on assurances from service providers without showing contracts or oversight. It considered that Article 32(1) and 32(1)(d) UK GDPR had been infringed. The reprimand is undated; the date follows the ICO case page.

Authority / court

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Area of law

Information security and cyber · Security measures and risk management

Legal basis

Art. 32(1) und 32(1)(d) UK GDPR; Verwarnung nach Art. 58(2)(b) UK GDPR

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Media and online platforms

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 25 Jul 2025 · Direct link

On 4 April 2023 the ICO fined the US and UK operating companies of a major video-sharing platform GBP 12,700,000, for which both companies are jointly and severally liable. According to the ICO's findings, between 25 May 2018 and 28 July 2020 the company provided its service to children under 13 in the UK and processed their data without parental consent and without any other valid lawful basis; it did not make reasonable efforts to keep under-13s off the platform or to obtain parental consent. The ICO estimated that there were between 1.1 million and 1.4 million registered account holders under 13 in 2020. It also found that privacy information was inadequate and not understandable for children, and found infringements of Articles 8, 12, 13(1) and (2) and 5(1)(a) UK GDPR. According to the notice, a provisional finding of an Article 9 UK GDPR infringement in the notice of intent of 23 September 2022 does not form part of the penalty. The ICO published the case on 15 May 2023. The company appealed against the notice; according to an ICO announcement of 24 September 2026, the company has withdrawn the appeal and will pay the GBP 12.7 million fine, so that according to the ICO the penalty notice is final.

Authority / court

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

Area of law

Data protection · Data subject rights and transparency

Legal basis

Art. 8, 12, 13(1) und (2), 5(1)(a) UK GDPR; Geldbuße nach section 155 DPA 2018

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Media and online platforms

Original amount 12,700,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Apr 2023.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 4 Apr 2025 · Direct link