Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to protect children from harmful content under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
The regulator said it would examine whether the social media platform has complied with its legal obligations, with particular attention on its age verification system.
“This investigation will seek to establish whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has failed, or is failing, to comply with its legal obligations,” Ofcom said in a statement.
The probe comes as the UK steps up enforcement of the Online Safety Act, introduced last year to strengthen protections for children using digital platforms.
The legislation requires technology companies to prevent children from accessing harmful material, including content related to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography. It also obliges platforms to shield young users from misogynistic, violent, hateful or abusive content, online bullying, and dangerous online challenges.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, said it was confident it complies with the law.
“We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
Under the Online Safety Act, companies found to have breached the rules could face fines of up to £18 million (about $24 million) or 10% of their global annual revenue.
