Court documents obtained by US public radio network NPR reveal that TikTok employees repeatedly warned about risks children could face while using the platform, but company executives failed to adequately respond to those warnings, according to the documents.
اضافة اعلان
The records show that several employees were frustrated with management’s handling of their concerns about child safety, particularly regarding sexual exploitation and the possibility of underage users being exposed to content related to suicide.
Employee testimony submitted to a court in March 2026 shed new light on TikTok’s practices for protecting children and teenagers.
Warnings about the exploitation of minors on the platform
According to NPR, TikTok employees warned that minors were appearing in sexually suggestive content available for purchase through the platform.
This raised concerns that the company could be profiting from activities that may be illegal.
Employees also reported vulnerabilities that allowed underage users to bypass age restrictions on certain types of content, access material inappropriate for their age, and conceal their activity on the platform from their parents.
The court documents also revealed that TikTok refrained from conducting surveys to determine users’ ages, fearing it might be required to share the results with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
TikTok rejects the allegations and defends its safety measures
TikTok rejected the allegations in the report, arguing that the information presented was misleadingly selective and did not reflect the company’s efforts to protect younger users.
A TikTok spokesperson said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch:
“These quotes and claims were clearly selectively chosen at the request of lawyers litigating cases and used to rewrite our history inaccurately and mislead the public about our commitment to youth safety and how our platform operates.”
The spokesperson added: “It is unfortunate that NPR chose to ignore the numerous documents and resources we provided that explain how these claims paint a distorted picture of our track record and platform features.”
The company said it had made substantial investments in strengthening safety measures and protecting users.
“We’ve invested billions of dollars in trust and safety and launched more than 50 default safety, privacy and security settings designed for teens, including Family Pairing, which helps parents and guardians customize their teenagers’ experience,” the statement said.
TikTok reaffirmed its commitment to protecting its user community, adding: “We remain steadfast in our commitment to the well-being of our community.”
Hundreds of lawsuits against social media platforms
TikTok, along with Meta, Google and Snap, is facing hundreds of lawsuits consolidated in proceedings before a US federal court.
The lawsuits accuse the companies’ social media platforms of harming underage users and failing to disclose known risks that children and teenagers may face while using them.
The allegations focus on the companies’ responsibility for the design of their platforms and features, and the impact those features may have on the safety of younger users.
TikTok has reached settlements in several of these cases before they went to trial.
One such case in Los Angeles involved a jury finding that Meta and YouTube had designed their platforms in ways that encouraged addictive use among young users.
These developments come amid continued legal pressure on social media companies over their responsibility to protect minors and whether their measures are sufficient to limit young users’ exposure to harmful content and risks associated with using their platforms.
Source: Al-Ghad.
