TikTok Is Being Investigated in the UK — And Its Age-Checking Tech Is Under Fire

TLDR

• Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into TikTok over child safety on its platform
• The probe focuses on whether TikTok’s age-checking technology is effective enough
• The UK government banned under-16s from social media one month ago
• Ofcom previously criticised TikTok in May for not being “safe enough” for children
• TikTok denies any breaches and says it will cooperate with Ofcom

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Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has opened a formal investigation into TikTok, examining whether the platform is doing enough to keep children away from harmful content.

The communications regulator, Ofcom, has announced it is launching an investigation into the social media platform TikTok – to find out if it’s complying with its duties to protect children from harmful content.

Kate Davies from Ofcom spoke to #BBCBreakfast… pic.twitter.com/Ql9Hf44UmX

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) July 16, 2026

The investigation was launched on Thursday, July 16, 2026. It comes roughly one month after the UK government announced a blanket ban on social media for users under the age of 16.

Ofcom wants to know if TikTok has the right systems in place to identify when a user is a child. The regulator will also look at whether those systems stop children from seeing harmful material.

This is not the first warning TikTok has received. In May, Ofcom reviewed the platform and said it had not set out “meaningful steps” to protect children in the UK.

At the centre of the investigation is a technology called “age inference.” This method estimates a user’s age based on how they behave on the app, such as what videos they watch and who they interact with.

Ofcom Questions Age Inference Technology

Ofcom’s group director for strategy and research, Kate Davies, said the regulator has “very serious questions” about whether age inference can be considered “highly effective.”

Under UK rules, social media platforms must use highly effective methods to verify that users are old enough to access their services. Ofcom says some age-checking methods currently used by social media companies are not working well enough.

TikTok pushed back against the investigation. A spokesperson said the company “strictly enforces age-appropriate experiences” using expert-informed rules and advanced age inference technology, in line with other major platforms.

The company also said it has invested “billions” in online safety since launching in the UK eight years ago.

TikTok’s Response and Wider Context

TikTok says that UK users are placed into an under-18 experience by default until the platform understands them to be an adult. It also says users who enter a date of birth below 13 when signing up are blocked from creating an account.

“We are confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate this,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

Ofcom was clear that opening an investigation does not mean TikTok has been found guilty of any breach. The process is ongoing.

TikTok is not the only platform using age inference technology. Instagram also uses it alongside other tools to detect users who may be lying about their age.

Ofcom has already taken action against dozens of adult content websites for failing to comply with its Protection of Children’s Codes, which came into effect on July 25 last year.

The investigation into TikTok signals that the same level of scrutiny is now being applied to mainstream social media platforms in the UK.