TikTok is under formal investigation by Ofcom over fears its age verification is failing to protect children from harmful content, including posts about suicide, self-harm and pornography.
The probe, announced on 16 July 2026, focuses on the video-sharing app's use of "age inference" technology – which estimates a user's age by analysing their behaviour on the platform, such as the videos they watch or people they interact with.
“Ofcom investigates TikTok over concerns its age verification fails to protect children from harmful content.”
Kate Davies, Ofcom's group director for strategy and research, told the BBC's Today programme: "We found that some method of age checks being used by social media are not working well enough." She added that the regulator had "serious doubts" over whether such tools are good enough. "We have very serious questions about whether age inference can be highly effective," Davies said.
Ofcom said it had not reached any conclusions, but compliance failures could result in fines of up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. In the most serious cases, Ofcom can also apply to have sites blocked or restricted in the UK.
The investigation comes almost a year after the Online Safety Act's protection of children codes took effect on 25 July last year, requiring sites with adult content to use methods such as face scans to verify a UK visitor is over 18. A review by Ofcom in May had already criticised TikTok for not being "safe enough" for children and called for stronger action on children's online safety.
TikTok defended its approach, with a spokesperson saying: "We're confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate it." The company said it "strictly enforce[s] age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers", and had invested "billions" in online safety since launching in the UK eight years ago.
The investigation intensifies scrutiny of social media platforms as the UK government prepares to launch a ban on under-16s using a range of platforms early next year. Meanwhile, Meta announced on Thursday it is taking steps to alert parents and emergency services if children discuss suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbots, which are embedded in Instagram and Facebook.