Ofcom investigates TikTok over failure to protect children online

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LONDON — The U.K.’s online safety regulator Ofcom on Thursday opened an investigation into TikTok over whether the platform has complied with its duties under the Online Safety Act to protect children from harmful content.

The watchdog’s probe will cover concerns raised in its two reports on children’s experiences online and age assurance that age inference models used by TikTok, which guess users’ ages based on their activity, are not highly effective and may have failed to correctly identify child users.

Under the OSA, platforms must use “highly effective” age assurance to make sure they’re not exposing children to harmful content. In its age assurance report published Wednesday, Ofcom said it’s concerned about the use of age inference to determine users’ ages, and it does not consider that method to be highly effective.

Ofcom can impose a fine of up to £18 million or 10% of worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, if it finds TikTok in breach of the OSA. The regulator said it would provide an update on the investigation in October.

TikTok did not immediately respond when contacted by POLITICO for comment.