Ofcom formally probes TikTok over child safety checks

Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into TikTok, stepping up a dispute over whether the platform is doing enough to protect children from harmful content under the Online Safety Act.

The UK regulator said on Thursday that it is examining two issues: whether TikTok has adequate measures to determine if a user is a child, and whether it has the systems and processes to stop children from being exposed to harmful material once that is known. Ofcom has said some of TikTok’s age-check tools may have failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of children.

Opening an investigation is not the same as finding a breach. Ofcom said it has reached no conclusion yet, and TikTok will be able to respond before any decision is made.

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The regulator has taken similar action against Telegram, X, and Grok, and has opened investigations into close to 100 services since the Act came into force. If Ofcom ultimately finds violations, the penalties are severe: up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

What Ofcom and TikTok said in May

The move follows warnings Ofcom made in May, when it said TikTok and YouTube had failed to explain how they would make personalized feeds shown to children safe after being asked to respond by the end of April. According to the regulator, neither company had “committed to any significant changes in response to our specific demands,” instead maintaining that their feeds were already safe.

“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.” “We are determined to force through further changes, using the full extent of our powers and influence.”

That evidence came from Ofcom’s own children’s online safety tracker. It found that roughly seven in 10 children aged 11 to 17 had encountered harmful content online, essentially unchanged from before the safety duties took effect in July 2025. Personalized feeds were still the most common route, cited by 35% of respondents versus 37% previously. Ofcom also found that nine in 10 children aged eight to 12 were using services with a minimum age of 13.

TikTok pushed back on Ofcom’s criticism in May.

“It’s very disappointing that Ofcom has failed to acknowledge both our longstanding and newer safety features, from no direct messaging for under-16s, pre-set private teen accounts, to our recently enhanced age assurance technologies.” “We will continue to make ongoing investments in safety measures.”

Fines, past action, and a possible under-16 ban

TikTok has already introduced features including limits on teenagers' time in the app. But unlike some rivals, it did not offer new commitments in May. Snapchat agreed to block adult strangers from contacting children by default and to roll out age checks to all users. Roblox said it would let parents switch off direct chat for under-16s. Meta said it would use AI to detect sexualized conversations between adults and teenagers in Instagram DMs.

The investigation also arrives as the legal framework shifts again. In June, the government legislated for a ban on social media for under-16s, expected to take effect in spring 2027, covering TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and X. If that timeline holds, much of what Ofcom is now investigating could become irrelevant before the case is resolved.

Ofcom has already sanctioned TikTok once before. In July 2024, it fined the company £1.875m after finding TikTok had submitted inaccurate data about its Family Pairing parental controls and had been slow to report the error. Ofcom linked those failings to weak data governance rather than to child safety directly.

For now, TikTok faces a formal proceeding rather than another warning letter. Ofcom will gather evidence, present its provisional view, and then decide. There is no statutory deadline for the process.