TikTok’s algorithm not only allows minors to encounter pornography and highly sexualized material — it actively steers them toward it, according to a report published Friday by Global Witness, an investigative research nonprofit.
The New York Post reported that researchers who created accounts posing as 13-year-olds said they were quickly shown sexually explicit search suggestions, even with TikTok’s safety settings for minors turned on.
This is not new. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2021 that TikTok’s algorithm can swiftly draw young users into an unending loop of adult content.
Global Witness researchers said some of the suggested searches included phrases such as “hardcore pawn clips” and “very very rude skimpy outfits,” which led to videos of women simulating masturbation, flashing their underwear, or exposing their breasts.
“At its most extreme, the search suggestions led to pornographic films of penetrative sex,” the Global Witness report said, adding that some pornographic material appeared to have been spliced into otherwise innocuous videos to bypass TikTok’s moderation systems.
“For one of the users, there was pornographic content just two clicks away after logging into the app — one click in the search bar and then one click on the suggested search,” the organization stated.
“Our point isn’t just that TikTok shows pornographic content to minors. It is that TikTok’s search algorithms actively push minors towards pornographic content,” the report said.
Global Witness said it immediately reported the findings to TikTok.
In response, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to the Post, “As soon as we were made aware of these claims, we took immediate action to investigate them, remove content that violated our policies and launch improvements to our search suggestion feature.”
The spokesperson said TikTok removes roughly nine out of every 10 videos that break its community guidelines — which include bans on nudity and sexual content — before users ever see them.
Despite those assurances, Global Witness said its researchers continued to find explicit recommendations when they repeated the experiment in July and August. The accounts — set up in the U.K. on clean phones with no search history — again received sexualized search suggestions.
Henry Peck, campaign strategy lead for digital threats at Global Witness, called the findings “a huge shock.”
“TikTok claims to have guardrails in place to make children and young people safe on its platform, yet we’ve discovered that moments after creating an account, they serve kids pornographic content,” Peck told the Post. “Now it’s time for regulators to step in.”
Global Witness said its team had not initially set out to study children’s online safety but came across the issue while conducting other research earlier this year.
The report also noted that TikTok users themselves have complained about sexually explicit recommendations. Screenshots shared online showed search suggestions users described as inappropriate, with captions such as, “can someone explain to me what is up w my search recs pls.”
Comments under those posts included, “I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE,” “how tf do you get rid of it like I haven’t even searched for it,” and “same what’s wrong with this app.”
The findings come shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order approving the transfer of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a consortium of American-based investors.
According to Pew Research Center data, American teens rely heavily on TikTok, with 63% indicating daily use, and as many as 16% admit to near-constant attention to the app.
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