TikTok has directed young users toward sexually explicit content through its suggested search terms. This was the result of an investigation by UK not for-profit watchdog, Global Witness, as tech companies face mounting pressure to crack down on age verification. Global Witness in its report, part of which was published on October 3, said it had set up 7 new TikTok accounts in the UK posing as 13-year-olds, the minimum age required for setting up an account, on factory-reset phones with no search histories.
It said TikTok’s search suggestions were “highly sexualized” for users who both reported being 13 years old and browsed the app using “restricted mode,” which “limits exposure to content that may not be comfortable for everyone” including “sexually suggestive content,” according to TikTok’s support page.
The investigation followed a broader move in the United Kingdom and United States to better protect children online The move comes as TikTok has been hit with allegations last year that it’s some of its contents are harmful to young users’ mental health.
However, a spokesperson to short online video platform said the company was committed to keeping their users’ experience safe. “As soon as we were made aware of these claims, we took immediate action to investigate them, remove content that violated our policies, and launch improvements to our search suggestion feature.
“TikTok has more than 50 features and settings designed specifically to support the safety and well-being of teens,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The statement also said TikTok is “fully committed to providing safe and age-appropriate experiences” and that it removes “9 in 10 violative videos before they are ever viewed.”
Sexualised searches, however, were recommended “the very first time that the user clicked into the search bar” for three of the test accounts Global Witness created, according to the report. TikTok surfaced pornographic content to all seven test users “just a small number of clicks after setting up the account.”
“Our point isn’t just that TikTok shows pornographic content to minors. It is that TikTok’s search algorithms actively push minors towards pornographic content,” said Global Witness in its report. TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit content containing nudity, sexual activity, and sexual services as well as any content containing sexually suggestive acts and significant body exposure involving youth.
TikTok said in its transparency report covering January through March 2025 that roughly 30 percent of the content removed from the platform because of a policy violation was taken down due to sensitive and mature themes.
