Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to stop children using its platform – a move that comes just a month after the UK government announced under-16s would be banned entirely from a range of social media sites.
The probe will scrutinise the video-sharing app’s method of checking users’ ages, focusing on technology known as “age inference”, which estimates how old a person is based on the videos they watch or the accounts they interact with.
“Ofcom investigates TikTok over age checks after May review found platform not safe enough for children.”
“We have very serious questions about whether age inference can be highly effective,” said Kate Davies, Ofcom’s group director for strategy and research, speaking to the BBC’s Today programme. “This is where TikTok comes in. We found that some method of age checks being used by social media are not working well enough.”
The investigation follows a review by the regulator in May that criticised TikTok for not being “safe enough” for children and called for stronger action on online safety.
Under the Online Safety Act’s protection of children’s codes, which took effect on 25 July last year, platforms with adult content must use methods such as face scans to verify a UK visitor is over 18. Ofcom requires social media sites to deploy “highly effective” age checks to prevent children from seeing harmful material.
Ofcom has already issued large fines against dozens of adult sites for suspected or proven non-compliance. Its investigation into TikTok signals that scrutiny is now intensifying for mainstream social media platforms.
In response, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers.” The company added that it had invested “billions” in online safety since launching in the UK eight years ago, and said: “We’re confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate it.”
TikTok is not alone in using age inference: Instagram also deploys the technology, among other methods, to identify children who may be lying about their age.
For Ofcom, the investigation marks a critical test of whether the regulator can force social media giants to move beyond self-declared birth dates and adopt checks that truly keep children safe.