TikTok knew about sexual exploitation risks to minors: Report
What's the story
Internal court documents have revealed that TikTok employees had raised alarms over the potential risks of sexual exploitation and suicide content on the platform, as per NPR. The previously unreported depositions were filed in US federal court in March 2026. They provide new insights into how TikTok has handled child safety since its popularity skyrocketed among young users in 2018.
Concerns raised
Minors exposed to sexual content on app
The employees expressed their concerns about minors being exposed to sexual content on the app, which could be accessed for a fee.
This raised alarms about a potential financial crime.
They also reported that users under 18 were exploiting loopholes to bypass age-restricted content and prevent parents from monitoring their activity on the platform.
Age verification
TikTok reluctant to conduct surveys on user ages
The documents also revealed that TikTok was reluctant to conduct surveys to determine the ages of its users, fearing it would have to share the findings with the Federal Trade Commission.
This is similar to other platforms like Meta and Google, which are facing similar lawsuits over their alleged failure to disclose risks associated with their products for users under 18.
Legal battles
TikTok has settled several cases
TikTok has settled several cases in the ongoing multi-district litigation, including a major one in Los Angeles earlier this year.
The jury found that co-defendants YouTube and Meta had designed their platforms to be addictive for young users.
In May, TikTok agreed to pay $8 million to settle a youth mental health and addiction lawsuit filed by a rural Kentucky school district.
Additional settlements
Separate $100 million settlement with Alabama
In September, TikTok reached a separate $100 million settlement with Alabama over claims that it had made its platform addictive for minors and exposed them to harmful content.
The employee depositions reviewed by NPR have not yet been presented as evidence at trial because the cases against TikTok are still pending jury consideration.
Internal struggles
Transactional sexual content
Reagen Maher, a former senior safety and investigations executive at TikTok, testified about her struggle to raise safety concerns with some of the company's top executives.
She said she was worried about the prevalence of "transactional sexual content and any viewers," including children and teenagers appearing in it.
An internal investigation had found that children aged 13-15 appeared in 112,000 TikTok Live videos just in January 2022.
Awareness
Company was aware of risks before Forbes report
Maher testified that the company was aware of the sexual exploitation of minors on its platform before a 2022 Forbes article reported it.
The report had revealed that minors were stripping on TikTok's Live feature, sometimes for virtual currency called "gift," which can be converted into cash through payment services or bank transfers.