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As reported by a new study, the widely-used social media app has been observed to steer children's accounts to adult videos after only a few taps.

Research Methodology

An advocacy group set up fake accounts using a 13-year-old's birth date and turned on the app's "restricted mode", which is meant to reduce exposure to adult-oriented content.

Investigators discovered that TikTok recommended sexually charged search terms to the simulated accounts that were established on new devices with no prior browsing data.

Concerning Search Suggestions

Keywords recommended under the "you may like" feature featured "very very rude skimpy outfits" and "very rude babes" – and then progressed to keywords such as "hardcore pawn [sic] clips".

In three cases of the accounts, the adult-oriented recommendations were proposed instantly.

Quick Path to Pornography

Following just a few taps, the researchers found adult videos from women flashing to explicit intercourse.

The organization reported that the content tried to bypass filters, often by presenting the content within an innocuous picture or video.

In one instance, the method took two taps after logging on: one click on the search bar and then another on the proposed query.

Legal Framework

Global Witness, whose scope includes researching big tech's impact on human rights, stated it carried out two batches of tests.

One set occurred preceding the implementation of child protection rules under the UK's Online Safety Act on July 25th, and additional tests after the measures took effect.

Alarming Results

Investigators noted that several pieces of content featured someone who seemed to be under 16 years old and had been sent to the Internet Watch Foundation, which tracks online child sexual abuse material.

Global Witness claimed that the social media app was in violation of the UK safety legislation, which obligates digital platforms to block children from viewing harmful content such as explicit content.

Official Reaction

An official representative for Britain's media watchdog, which is tasked with regulating the legislation, commented: "We appreciate the effort behind this study and will review its conclusions."

The regulator's guidelines for complying with the legislation state that digital platforms that present a significant danger of presenting inappropriate videos must "adjust their systems to block inappropriate videos from minors' content streams.

The platform's rules forbid adult videos.

TikTok's Statement

The social media company stated that upon receiving information from the organization, it had removed the violating content and introduced modifications to its recommendation system.

"Immediately after notification" of these assertions, we responded quickly to examine the issue, remove content that violated our policies, and introduce upgrades to our search suggestion feature," said a spokesperson.