Ofcom Opens Child Safety Investigation into TikTok
Two months ago, the regulator stated that TikTok was falling short in protecting children, despite significant evidence of harm. This is what that statement entailed.
July 16, 2026 – 7:34 am
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Ofcom has initiated a formal inquiry into whether TikTok adequately safeguards children from harmful content, escalating a dispute that has been ongoing since May. The investigation, announced on Thursday, scrutinizes two aspects under the Online Safety Act: TikTok’s ability to identify child users and its systems for preventing them from accessing inappropriate material once identified.
Ofcom has expressed concerns that some of TikTok’s age-checking mechanisms may have incorrectly classified a significant portion of children as adults. Opening an investigation does not imply any findings; Ofcom explicitly states they have reached no conclusions regarding TikTok’s compliance with its duties, and the company will have the opportunity to respond before any decisions are made.
This follows similar actions against Telegram, X (formerly Twitter), and Grok, with nearly 100 services under investigation since the Act’s enactment.
If Ofcom finds TikTok in breach, the consequences could be severe. The Act permits fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater—a significant potential impact for a company of ByteDance’s scale, where the percentage fine would be more pertinent.
The background to this investigation involves repeated warnings from Ofcom to TikTok. In May, Ofcom stated that both TikTok and YouTube had failed to provide detailed plans on making personalized feeds safe for children, despite being given until April to respond. The regulator’s CEO, Melanie Dawes, expressed her concern:
"We remain deeply concerned that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take the necessary action to keep underage children off their platforms and make their feeds safer."
She went on to affirm Ofcom’s determination to enforce further changes using its full powers and influence.
The evidence mentioned by Dawes is based on Ofcom’s own research, which found that approximately seven in ten children aged 11 to 17 encountered harmful content online, a statistic largely unchanged from before the safety duties took effect in July 2025. Personalized feeds remain the primary source of harm, cited by 35% of respondents, up from 37% previously. Furthermore, nine out of ten children aged 8 to 12 use services with a minimum age requirement of 13.
TikTok has refuted these claims, stating in May:
"It’s very disappointing that Ofcom has failed to acknowledge both our longstanding and newer safety features… We will continue to make ongoing investments in safety measures."
The company previously introduced features limiting teens’ app usage time.