TikTok ‘directs child accounts to pornographic content within a few clicks’

Despite platform’s limits on adult content, study finds it not only accessible but often suggested

TikTok has directed children’s accounts to pornographic content within a small number of clicks, according to a report by a campaign group.

Global Witness set up fake accounts using a 13-year-old’s birth date and turned on the video app’s “restricted mode”, which limits exposure to “sexually suggestive” content.

Researchers found TikTok suggested sexualised and explicit search terms to seven test accounts that were created on clean phones with no search history.