Trending 
Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has opened an investigation into whether TikTok is complying with legal requirements to protect children from harmful online content.
In a statement on Thursday, Ofcom said the probe would examine whether there were reasonable grounds to believe that the social media platform had failed, or was failing, to meet its obligations under the UK’s Online Safety Act.
“This investigation will seek to establish whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has failed, or is failing, to comply with its legal obligations,” Ofcom said.
The regulator said the investigation would focus in particular on TikTok’s age verification system.
Responding to the investigation, TikTok said it was confident it complies with the requirements of the Online Safety Act, which was introduced last year to strengthen protections for children online.
The company said it enforces age-appropriate experiences through platform rules developed with expert input and advanced age-estimation technologies, in line with industry standards.
“We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
We’re investigating whether TikTok’s age assurance measures are effective at protecting UK children from harmful content.
This follows our new report looking at the use of age checks under the Online Safety Act. pic.twitter.com/ukdSTpbWzH
— Ofcom (@Ofcom) July 16, 2026
The Online Safety Act requires technology companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content, including material related to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography. It also requires platforms to protect minors from misogynistic, violent, hateful or abusive content, online bullying, and dangerous online challenges.
Companies found to have breached the law could face fines of up to £18 million ($24 million) or 10 per cent of their global revenue.
