TikTok accused of profiting from illegal child sexual exploitation videos

TikTok has been accused of allowing illegal child sexual exploitation videos to remain on its platform and profiting from them. The allegations were made by former and current employees, who say that the company failed to properly respond to internal reports. Employees raised the alarm about minors appearing in sexual content on the app, which viewers could pay to access and the company would profit from, a potential financial crime. They also flagged that users under 18 were using loopholes to bypass age-restricted content and to block parents and guardians from reviewing their activity on the app.

TikTok also refrained from conducting surveys to assess the ages of its users because it was concerned that it would have to turn the results over to the Federal Trade Commission, the documents show. Employees say that senior leaders were aware of the issues, but their responses were inadequate. Social media companies are required by law to report suspected CSAM, as well as suspicions regarding money being obtained illegally through their platforms.

The report additionally says concerns were expressed internally about young users being shown content related to suicide and self-harm, and that the platform was not taking proper steps to tackle this. TikTok is one of the most popular apps on the App Store, with a high proportion of teenage users. The company responded by saying that the claims made in the story are “clearly cherry-picked at the behest of trial lawyers and used to inaccurately rewrite our history and mislead the public about our commitment to youth safety and how our platform works.”

The employees’ internal reports suggest that the company had the means to address the issues but did not act decisively. The documents show that the company was aware of the potential financial crime associated with the sexual content on the app, yet it chose not to conduct surveys that could have provided more insight into the age of its users. The company’s response to the allegations appears to be more focused on protecting its image than addressing the concerns raised by its own employees.