Ofcom launches an investigation into TikTok regarding child safety.

      Ofcom has initiated a formal investigation to determine if TikTok is adequately protecting children from harmful content, marking a significant escalation in a public dispute that began in May. The investigation, announced on Thursday, will focus on two aspects under the Online Safety Act: whether TikTok has sufficient measures to accurately identify child users and whether it has effective systems in place to prevent these users from encountering harmful content once their age is known.

      Ofcom has indicated that some of the age verification systems employed by TikTok may not correctly identify a large number of children. It's important to note that the opening of this investigation does not equate to a judgment; Ofcom has clarified that it has not reached any conclusions regarding potential breaches by TikTok, and the company will be given the opportunity to respond before any decisions are made.

      The regulator has also pursued similar actions against Telegram, X, and Grok, and has opened investigations into nearly 100 services since the enactment of the Act. Should the regulator identify any failures, the penalties could be significant, with the Act permitting fines of up to £18 million or 10% of the qualifying global revenue, whichever is greater—a significant figure for a company as large as ByteDance.

      This move comes after Ofcom has been warning TikTok that such action could occur. In May, Ofcom stated that both TikTok and YouTube had not adequately explained how they would ensure the safety of personalized content for children, despite being asked to do so by the end of April. The regulator noted that neither platform had “made any substantial commitments to change” in response to its demands, insisting instead that their current feeds were already safe.

      Ofcom's chief executive, Melanie Dawes, expressed her concerns at the time, stating, “We remain deeply concerned that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take the necessary action to keep underage children off their platforms and make their feeds safer. We are determined to force through further changes, using the full extent of our powers and influence.” The evidence she referred to comes from Ofcom’s own findings, which revealed that about seven in ten children aged 11 to 17 had encountered harmful content online, a figure that has not changed since the safety duties were implemented in July 2025. The most common avenue for this harmful content was personalized feeds, reported by 35% of respondents, down slightly from 37% previously. Furthermore, 90% of children aged eight to 12 were using services that have a minimum age requirement of 13.

      TikTok has contested this portrayal, with a spokesperson expressing disappointment that Ofcom did not acknowledge the platform's existing and new safety features, such as prohibiting direct messaging for users under 16, setting private accounts for teens by default, and enhancing age verification technologies. They also noted TikTok's ongoing investments in safety measures. In addition, TikTok has previously implemented features to limit the time teenagers spend on the app.

      What set TikTok apart from its competitors in May was what it did not implement. Snapchat agreed to prevent adult strangers from contacting children by default and to implement age checks for all users, while Roblox allowed parents to disable direct chat for users under 16 after facing criticism regarding its child safety records. Meta announced its intention to use AI to identify sexualized conversations between adults and teens in Instagram direct messages, whereas TikTok and YouTube pointed to their existing measures.

      This investigation comes amidst changing regulations, with the government having passed legislation in June to ban social media use for those under 16, anticipated to take effect in spring 2027, encompassing TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and X. If the government adheres to its timeline, much of what Ofcom is studying may become irrelevant before the investigation concludes.

      Ofcom has a history with TikTok, having previously fined the company £1.875 million in July 2024 for providing inaccurate data concerning its Family Pairing parental controls and for being slow to report the mistake, which Ofcom attributed to inadequate data governance rather than issues directly related to child safety.

      Now, TikTok is facing a formal proceeding rather than simply receiving a letter. Ofcom will collect evidence, present its initial assessment to the company, and make a decision. There is no statutory timeline for this process.