TikTok Faces UK Probe Over Child Safety Checks

TikTok Faces UK Probe as Ofcom Questions Age Verification

Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into TikTok amid concerns that the platform may not be protecting children from harmful material often associated with online risk. The UK communications regulator said it is examining whether the social media company’s approach to checking user ages is effective enough to keep younger users away from content that can include disordered eating, self-harm, suicide and pornography.

The move places TikTok under closer regulatory scrutiny at a time when UK authorities are intensifying their focus on child safety online. Ofcom said the case is centered on concerns that TikTok’s method of inferring the ages of children may have failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of them. That, the regulator said, could leave some children exposed to content that the Online Safety Act is intended to curb.

Why Ofcom is investigating TikTok

According to Ofcom, the investigation follows concerns about how TikTok verifies age and whether its systems are working as intended. The regulator has not said it has reached any conclusions, but it has made clear that the platform’s age-checking approach has raised particular concern.

The investigation is taking place almost a year after measures designed to protect children from the worst online content came into effect under the Online Safety Act. That context matters because the law has created new expectations for major platforms operating in the UK, especially those that host content accessible to younger users.

Ofcom said the relevant concern is not limited to one type of harmful material. The regulator identified posts linked to disordered eating, self-harm, suicide and pornography as examples of the kind of material children could encounter if age controls are not working properly. In that sense, the inquiry is about both access controls and broader safeguarding standards.

What penalties could follow

The regulator has also set out the potential consequences if it finds compliance failures. Ofcom said breaches could be punished with fines of up to 18 million pounds or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. In the most serious cases, the watchdog can apply for sites to be blocked or restricted in the UK.

Those powers underline the seriousness of the current inquiry, even though no outcome has been announced. The investigation does not mean TikTok has been found in breach of the rules. However, the fact that Ofcom has moved to a formal probe signals that it believes the issues merit closer examination.

For TikTok, the case adds to wider pressure on social media companies to show that age assurance tools are doing more than offering a basic procedural check. For regulators, it illustrates the challenge of making digital safety rules practical in platforms that rely on large-scale content systems and age-inference technology.

Wider UK context for social media safety

The case also lands against the backdrop of a forthcoming policy shift in the UK. The government is preparing to launch a social media ban for under-16s early next year, adding further weight to debates over how platforms should handle child access and safety.

That makes the Ofcom investigation more than an isolated compliance review. It is part of a broader national conversation about how far platforms should go in preventing minors from encountering harmful material and what regulators should do when those protections appear inadequate.

For now, the regulator says the process is ongoing. TikTok faces questions over whether its current age checks are strong enough, while the outcome of the investigation will determine whether formal enforcement action follows.