Key facts
- Ofcom is investigating TikTok for potential breaches of the Online Safety Act regarding child safety.
- The investigation focuses on TikTok's use of 'age inference' models to guess users' ages.
- Ofcom is concerned these models may not be highly effective in identifying child users.
- Platforms must use 'highly effective' age assurance to protect children from harmful content under the Act.
- TikTok faces potential fines of up to £18 million or 10% of its worldwide revenue if found in breach.
The UK's online safety regulator, Ofcom, has launched a formal investigation into TikTok, citing concerns that the platform's age inference models may not be effective in protecting children from harmful content. The investigation, which began almost a year after the Online Safety Act came into effect, focuses on whether TikTok's methods for determining user ages are sufficiently robust. Ofcom stated that these age inference techniques may fail to correctly identify a significant proportion of children, potentially exposing them to harmful material such as content related to disordered eating, self-harm, suicide, and pornography. Failure to comply with the Act could result in fines of up to £18 million or 10% of TikTok's qualifying worldwide revenue. TikTok maintains that it enforces age-appropriate experiences through platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, aligning with industry peers. The investigation also comes as the UK government prepares to implement a social media ban for under-16s. Separately, Ofcom has expressed serious doubts about other platforms' age inference methods and noted that search engines like Google and Bing are directing users to pornography sites without adequate age checks, and is working with them to address this.