- Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into TikTok's child safety measures.
- The regulator is questioning whether TikTok's age verification system accurately identifies under-18 users.
- Companies found to have breached the Online Safety Act could face fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of global revenue.
TikTok is facing a formal UK investigation over concerns that its age verification system may not be doing enough to protect children from harmful online content, putting one of the country's most popular social media platforms under renewed regulatory pressure.
The investigation, launched by Ofcom, will examine whether TikTok is complying with its obligations under the Online Safety Act, particularly whether its methods for identifying child users are accurate enough to prevent them from accessing harmful material. The regulator has not reached any conclusions, but warned that companies found to be in breach of the rules could face fines of up to £18 million or 10 per cent of their worldwide annual revenue, whichever is higher. In the most serious cases, platforms could also face restrictions or be blocked in the UK.
Questions over age checks grow louder
Ofcom said its main concern is TikTok's use of age inference technology, which estimates a user's age using signals such as account activity and other online behaviour rather than relying solely on formal identity checks.
The watchdog said it has "particular concerns" that the system may have failed to identify a significant number of children, potentially exposing them to content involving self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and pornography.
According to Ofcom, several online platforms continue to rely on similar age estimation methods using information such as profile names, biographies, voice, facial features and viewing behaviour. The regulator said it has "serious doubts" about whether these approaches are sufficiently accurate and urged companies using them to move towards age assurance methods it considers highly effective.
The investigation comes nearly a year after stricter child safety requirements under the Online Safety Act came into force.
TikTok said users are required to enter their date of birth when creating an account and that it also uses advanced technology to identify people who may not meet the platform's minimum age requirements. The company reportedly said it is confident it complies with the Online Safety Act and will work with Ofcom during the investigation. TikTok also said it does not allow content promoting eating disorders or dangerous weight management behaviour.
A wider crackdown on online child safety
The investigation comes as the UK government prepares to introduce a social media ban for children under 16 early next year, a move expected to place even greater scrutiny on how technology companies verify users' ages.
Ofcom's own research suggests the issue extends beyond social media. Around one in 10 teenagers aged between 15 and 17 were still using the UK's three most popular dating apps in December 2025 despite age restrictions being in place.
The regulator also found that TikTok remains the third most-used platform among children aged eight to 14 in the UK, behind YouTube and WhatsApp. Children in this age group spend an average of eight hours and 45 minutes each week using video-sharing platforms.
Separately, Ofcom said children can still easily find pornography websites without age checks through search engines. According to its findings, around one in three first-page Google search results and 54 per cent of Bing results linked to pornography sites that lacked age verification.
Since July 25, 2025, websites and apps hosting pornographic content have been required under the Online Safety Act to introduce age checks for UK users. Ofcom said it is now working with Google and Microsoft to reduce the visibility of websites that continue to operate without those safeguards.
Google said it automatically enables SafeSearch protections for users it knows or believes are under 18 to filter explicit content. Microsoft declined to comment.
The regulatory pressure comes as technology companies face growing scrutiny over online child safety more broadly. Meta recently announced new tools that can alert parents and, in some cases, emergency services if children discuss suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbots on Facebook or Instagram in supported markets.
