Spain mulls TikTok suspension after investigation into child sex abuse videos

What the report says

Spain is weighing whether to suspend TikTok after an investigation by the Spanish nonprofit Maldita.es said it found extensive child sexual abuse material and suspected predatory activity on the platform. Al Jazeera reported that the group said it identified more than 1,000 explicit videos involving child sexual abuse, with a combined total of 48 million views, while also flagging tens of thousands of profiles it believed were linked to suspected paedophiles.

According to the report, Maldita.es monitored TikTok for 35 days in September and October, examining profiles, comments and livestreams and creating test accounts to observe how the recommendation system behaved. The organization said the platform’s algorithm promoted minors’ livestreams and that some children were receiving sexualized comments and requests for explicit exchanges. It also accused TikTok of allowing harmful content to spread and of benefiting financially from it through its gifting system.

Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children responded by asking TikTok for explanations and raising the possibility of suspension. The ministry also said it had asked prosecutors to act on alleged child sexual abuse cases and requested an urgent meeting with TikTok leadership in Spain.

The allegations add to broader scrutiny of TikTok in Europe and elsewhere over child safety and content moderation. TikTok has denied similar accusations in the past, while the European Union has separately pressed the company to address the design of its recommendation feed or risk penalties.