The UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has launched an investigation into TikTok over concerns the platform may not be doing enough to protect children. The probe centers on whether TikTok has failed, or is currently failing, to meet requirements under Section 12 of the Online Safety Act 2023, which covers how platforms manage risks of harm to children and stop them from encountering harmful content.
At the heart of the investigation is TikTok’s age inference system, a method that tries to estimate a user’s age based on how they behave on the platform rather than asking for any formal ID or documentation. A separate Ofcom report published alongside the investigation announcement questions how effective this approach actually is.
This matters because Ofcom has already been clear that age inference does not meet its standard for a highly effective age verification method. The core problem is obvious once you think about it: to make a reliable estimate, the system needs to watch how a user behaves on the platform for long enough to draw a conclusion. That means a child could already be exposed to harmful content before the system flags anything. It is not preventing access. It is reacting to it.
TikTok updated its age verification rules at the start of 2026 and says it runs “multiple checks” to screen out underage users. When someone creates an account, they must enter their birthdate first. If they fail the minimum age requirement, they are blocked from immediately trying again with a different date. Beyond that, TikTok says its system also looks at profile information and uploaded videos, with suspicious accounts sent to a human moderator for review. The company points to a European pilot of the system that it says successfully removed thousands of underage accounts.
TikTok also lets anyone report an account they think belongs to someone underage, and you do not need a TikTok account yourself to submit a report. In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said: “We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers. In the eight years since TikTok launched in the UK, we have invested billions in platform safety. We are confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this.”
Ofcom has been clear that no conclusions have been reached yet and that this is the start of an investigation, not the end of one. But the stakes are real. If TikTok is found to be in breach, the penalties include:
- Fines of up to £18 million (around $24 million)
- Or 10 percent of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher
- In serious cases, a court order requiring third parties like advertisers to take action against the platform
This investigation fits into a broader push by Ofcom to force social media companies to take child safety seriously. Back in May, Meta, Snap and Roblox all committed to stronger anti-grooming measures in the UK after pressure from the regulator. TikTok and YouTube were also contacted at the time but did not commit to any significant changes. Now TikTok is facing a formal investigation as a result.
The wider context here is hard to ignore. The UK government plans to ban children under 16 from using major social media apps, including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and X, starting next year. Regulators across Europe and beyond are increasingly skeptical that platforms are policing themselves effectively, and investigations like this one are likely to become more common, not less.