TikTok Under UK Investigation for Child Safety, Age Verification Failures

UK — Ekhbary News Agency

TikTok faces a formal investigation from the UK's online regulator, Ofcom, over serious concerns regarding its failure to protect children from harmful content. The watchdog expressed particular apprehension about the social media platform's age verification methods, nearly a year after the Online Safety Act introduced measures to safeguard children online.

Ofcom Raises Alarm on Age Verification

Ofcom stated TikTok employs an age inference technique that may have incorrectly identified "a significant proportion of children," potentially exposing them to content like disordered eating, self-harm, suicide, and pornography. While no conclusions have been reached, compliance failures could lead to substantial fines, up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue, whichever proves greater. Ofcom also holds the power to block or restrict sites in the UK for the most severe breaches.

Industry-Wide Scrutiny and Future Regulations

The regulator is scrutinizing whether TikTok has upheld its legal obligations, specifically regarding highly effective age assurance. TikTok, for its part, mandates users enter a birth date and utilizes technology to detect "signals" indicating a user might not meet minimum age requirements. This comes as the UK government plans to implement a social media ban for under-16s early next year, intensifying scrutiny on tech companies' age verification processes. For what it's worth, other platforms using age inference models are also under Ofcom's microscope, with the regulator urging a shift to more reliable methods. Studies show that roughly one in ten teenagers aged 15 to 17 still access major dating apps despite age checks, underscoring the pervasive nature of this challenge.