According to a new investigation by the British non-profit Global Witness, TikTok offered search suggestions related to explicit content to users registered as 13-year-olds. The report, published on October 3, comes amid mounting pressure on tech companies in the UK and US to strengthen age controls online.
TikTok Accused of Promoting Sexual Content to Teens
The organization created seven new TikTok accounts in the UK, setting the minimum age to 13. To ensure the integrity of the experiment, phones with no search history and factory settings were used. Despite the profiles being set to “restricted mode,” which TikTok claims filters inappropriate and “adult” content, the researchers encountered “overly sexualized” search suggestions.
According to Global Witness, the first hints of pornography appeared literally the first time the user searched. Just a few clicks later, the new accounts gained access to explicitly pornographic content.
TikTok’s Response
A company representative told CNN that TikTok is “committed to ensuring the safety of all users” and initiated an investigation immediately after receiving the report. The company announced the removal of content that violated the platform’s rules and changes to its search suggestion algorithms.
TikTok emphasized that the app has more than 50 features and settings designed to protect teenagers. According to the company, 9 out of 10 banned videos are removed before they can be viewed. TikTok also closes approximately 6 million accounts belonging to underage users each month.
Context and Legislative Action
The publication of the report coincided with the entry into force of new provisions in the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, which address the protection of children online. The law requires online platforms to implement age verification and prevent teenagers from accessing harmful content, including pornography and self-harm material.
Legal advisor Mark Stevens, who commented on Global Witness’ findings, stated that the investigation “indicates a violation” of the law’s requirements.
Critics of the law, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, fear that mandatory age verification measures could affect the privacy of all users, not just minors.
Broader Background
TikTok is far from the only platform facing pressure over child protection. In 2024–2025, YouTube implemented an AI-based system for age detection and activation of protective features, and Instagram made teen accounts private by default.
TikTok itself has added a number of safety tools in recent years: limiting nighttime notifications, a “guided meditation mode” for controlling time spent in the app, and additional filters for teen accounts.
Despite these steps, Global Witness’ investigation found that the company’s proposed measures do not always work as advertised.
OpenAI unveiled Sora 2, an updated model for generating video and audio, replacing last year’s version. The company simultaneously launched Sora, a social app that allows users to create videos of themselves and friends and share them in a TikTok-like feed.
