TikTok: Ofcom Investigation into Protecting Children

What Changed

On 16 July 2026 Ofcom opened an investigation into TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited under section 12 of the Online Safety Act 2023, which covers duties to protect children from encountering harmful content. It will seek to establish whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that TikTok has failed, or is failing, to comply, including by using age assurance that is highly effective at correctly determining whether a user is a child; Ofcom's Age Assurance report, published the same day, suggests that age inference models such as TikTok's may have failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of children. Ofcom says opening an investigation does not mean it has reached any conclusion about whether TikTok has breached its duties. In an update on 22 October 2026 it said it had reached no findings or conclusions, was reviewing changes TikTok made to its Community Guidelines on 24 September 2026, and expects to publish a further update in approximately three months.

What to Review

• •Check that your child's TikTok account is registered with their real date of birth, since age-based protections depend on it.

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