Ofcom initiates an investigation regarding child safety on TikTok.

      Ofcom has initiated a formal investigation to determine whether TikTok is not adequately safeguarding children from harmful content, intensifying a dispute that has been publicly ongoing since May. The investigation, revealed on Thursday, will focus on two aspects under the Online Safety Act: whether TikTok has sufficient measures to identify child users and whether it has effective systems in place to prevent children from encountering harmful content once identified.

      Ofcom has pointed out that some of the age-verification methods used by TikTok may not have accurately identified a considerable portion of child users. Launching an investigation does not equate to a determination of any wrongdoing. Ofcom clearly states that it has not reached any conclusions about TikTok's compliance, and the company will have an opportunity to respond before any decisions are made.

      The regulator has taken similar actions against Telegram, X, and Grok, and has launched investigations into nearly 100 services since the Act was enacted. Should the regulator discover failures, the potential penalties are significant. The Act allows for fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global qualifying revenue, whichever is higher, making the percentage a crucial figure for a company as large as ByteDance.

      This investigation is set against a backdrop of prior warnings from the regulator. In May, Ofcom stated that TikTok and YouTube had not adequately detailed how they would ensure the safety of personalized feeds aimed at children, despite requests for clarification by the end of April. The regulator noted that neither company had “committed to any substantial changes in response to our specific demands,” insisting instead that their feeds were already safe.

      Ofcom’s chief executive, Melanie Dawes, expressed her concerns at that time: “We remain deeply troubled that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take necessary actions to keep underage children off their platforms and to enhance feed safety. We are committed to instigating further changes, utilizing our full powers and influence.”

      The evidence Dawes referred to is based on Ofcom’s findings. Its children’s online safety tracker indicated that about 70% of children aged 11 to 17 had come across harmful content online, which showed little change from before the safety obligations took effect in July 2025. The most prevalent source of harmful content remained personalized feeds, reported by 35% of respondents compared to 37% previously. Furthermore, 90% of children aged 8 to 12 were using platforms with a minimum age requirement of 13.

      TikTok has contested this portrayal, expressing disappointment that Ofcom has not acknowledged its established and new safety features, which include preventing direct messaging for users under 16, defaulting to private accounts for teenagers, and recently enhanced age verification technologies. A representative asserted in May that the company would “continue to invest in safety measures.” TikTok had previously introduced features to limit teenagers' time on the app.

      In May, TikTok's approach differed from that of its competitors. Snapchat agreed to block adult strangers from contacting minors by default and to implement age checks for all users, while Roblox pledged to allow parents to disable direct messaging for users under 16, following persistent criticism regarding its child safety practices. Meta announced plans to utilize AI to identify sexualized conversations between adults and teens in Instagram direct messages. In contrast, TikTok and YouTube cited existing measures.

      This investigation also coincides with a changing legal landscape. In June, the government passed legislation for a ban on social media access for users under 16, which is expected to take effect in spring 2027 and will apply to platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and X. If this timeline is adhered to, much of what Ofcom is now investigating could become irrelevant before the inquiry concludes.

      Ofcom has a history with TikTok, previously fining the company £1.875 million in July 2024 after discovering it had provided inaccurate information regarding its Family Pairing parental controls and was slow to address the error; the regulator attributed these failings to poor data governance rather than safety issues for children. TikTok now faces a formal review instead of just a written notice. Ofcom will collect evidence, present its initial findings to the company, and reach a decision, though there is no statutory deadline for completing any part of this process.