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Per findings from a new study, the widely-used social media app has been found to guide profiles of minors to adult videos after only a few taps.

Testing Approach

An advocacy group set up test accounts using a date of birth for a minor and enabled the app's "restricted mode", which is intended to restrict exposure to inappropriate content.

Study authors found that TikTok proposed inappropriate and adult-themed search terms to seven test accounts that were set up on new devices with no search history.

Troubling Search Prompts

The terms proposed under the "you may like" feature featured "extremely revealing clothing" and "very rude babes" – and then progressed to phrases such as "graphic sexual content".

For three of the accounts, the inappropriate search terms were recommended right away.

Rapid Access to Explicit Content

After a "small number of clicks", the investigators found adult videos including women flashing to penetrative sex.

The organization stated that the content sought to avoid detection, often by presenting the clip within an benign visual or video.

In one instance, the procedure took two interactions after accessing the app: one click on the search bar and then a second on the proposed query.

Legal Framework

The research entity, whose remit includes researching technology companies' influence on public safety, reported performing two batches of tests.

One set occurred before the implementation of minor safety measures under the United Kingdom's digital protection law on July 25th, and another following the rules took effect.

Serious Findings

Researchers stated that two videos showed someone who seemed to be under 16 years old and had been reported to the child protection organization, which tracks exploitative content.

Global Witness alleged that the video platform was in breach of the digital protection law, which obligates tech companies to stop children from accessing dangerous material such as adult material.

Government Position

A communications officer for Britain's media watchdog, which is tasked with overseeing the legislation, commented: "We appreciate the research behind this study and will examine its findings."

The regulator's guidelines for following the legislation state that online services that present a substantial threat of presenting inappropriate videos must "configure their algorithms to filter out inappropriate videos from young users' timelines.

The platform's rules ban adult videos.

TikTok's Statement

The video platform said that upon receiving information from the research group, it had deleted the offending videos and implemented adjustments to its recommendation system.

"Immediately after notification" of these assertions, we took immediate action to look into the matter, take down videos that contravened our rules, and launch improvements to our search prompt functionality," commented a company representative.