UK opens TikTok investigation over child safety measures under Online Safety Act

Britain's online safety watchdog has opened a formal investigation into TikTok over concerns that the video-sharing platform may not be doing enough to protect children from harmful material, marking the latest regulatory scrutiny under the country's Online Safety Act.

The inquiry, announced by media regulator Ofcom on Thursday, will examine whether TikTok's UK operations have effective safeguards to identify underage users and prevent them from being exposed to content that could pose risks to their wellbeing. The regulator will assess both the systems used to determine a user's age and the broader processes designed to protect children while using the platform.

The investigation comes as the UK adopts a tougher approach towards online child safety. Just a month ago, the government introduced a blanket ban preventing children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms. It also imposed tighter restrictions on gaming and live-streaming services as part of broader efforts to reduce online harms faced by young users.

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Ofcom said the launch of the investigation should not be interpreted as evidence that TikTok has broken the law. Instead, the regulator stressed that the inquiry is intended to determine whether the company has complied with its legal responsibilities under the Online Safety Act.

The move follows earlier concerns raised by Ofcom. In May, the regulator said TikTok had not provided sufficient detail on the practical steps it was taking to keep British children safe from harmful online content. Those concerns prompted closer scrutiny of the platform's compliance with the UK's evolving online safety framework.

TikTok has rejected suggestions that it has failed to meet its obligations. In a statement to Reuters, a company spokesperson said: "We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers."

The spokesperson added: "We are confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this."

The case is expected to test how Britain's online safety rules are enforced against major technology companies. The Online Safety Act places greater responsibility on digital platforms to assess risks, protect children from harmful content and implement robust safeguards, with regulators empowered to investigate potential failures and impose penalties where necessary.

For TikTok, the investigation represents another regulatory challenge as governments around the world continue to scrutinise how social media platforms verify users' ages and manage the risks younger audiences face online. While the outcome remains uncertain, Ofcom's probe signals that UK authorities are prepared to closely examine whether technology companies are translating safety commitments into effective action.