Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation into whether TikTok is doing enough to protect children from harmful content under the country’s Online Safety Act.
In a statement on Thursday, Ofcom said the investigation would examine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe the social media platform has failed, or is failing, to comply with its legal obligations.
The regulator said it will focus in particular on TikTok’s age verification system and whether it effectively prevents children from accessing inappropriate content.
TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, said it is confident it complies with the requirements of the Online Safety Act.
“We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers,” a company spokesperson said.
However, Kate Davies, Ofcom’s Director for Strategy and Research, told the BBC that the regulator has concerns about age inference—a method that estimates a user’s age based on their online behaviour.
“It is not in our guidance as an effective method of age check,” Davies said.
The investigation comes as UK authorities step up enforcement of the Online Safety Act, which was introduced to strengthen protections for children using digital platforms.