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The Spanish Ministry of Youth and Childhood is contemplating the suspension of TikTok’s operations within the country following serious allegations that the platform facilitates the dissemination, exchange, and commercialisation of child sexual abuse content. The ministry has requested the Attorney General’s Office to initiate an investigation after the Maldita.es Foundation uncovered 1,182 public posts containing explicit material related to child sexual abuse, shared across over 200 profiles, accumulating a staggering 48 million views.
Sira Rego, Minister of Youth and Childhood, stated, “The documented incidents of child sexual abuse on TikTok are extremely grave. We have formally requested the Attorney General to open an investigation and have just called for an urgent meeting with the platform’s representatives in Spain.”
The findings released by Maldita.es stem from an investigation conducted between 11 September and 15 October 2023. The researchers identified nearly 1,200 videos featuring explicit content, some of which had been accessible for up to four months. Alarmingly, 136 out of the 231 accounts linked to these posts were still active as of mid-October despite TikTok’s policies mandating the permanent suspension of profiles that share such material.
Investigative Findings and Content Distribution
The analysis revealed that these accounts operated as catalogues for promoting illegal content. In their feeds, investigators discovered images of minors, video snippets, overlaid texts, partially obscured images with emoticons, and compositions that concealed explicit scenes. Certain posts even provided additional details, such as pricing, video duration, and contact information to access the material.
According to Maldita.es, “The platform not only fails to moderate these contents; it also facilitates access to networks that trade in this material and enables communication between paedophiles. All of this occurs on the social network where minors spend the most time globally.”
The journalistic investigation indicates that the issue is closely tied to TikTok’s recommendation algorithm. Findings showed explicit materials appearing in the “For You” section, alongside posts with indicators of the exploitation or sexualisation of minors. These latter posts acted as bait, directing users to other platforms such as Telegram, where they could obtain full content.
This is the third instance in which Maldita.es has documented such issues on TikTok, noting that, to date, no effective measures have been implemented to curtail them. “If TikTok is aware of these tactics, it is not taking adequate action to systematically eliminate them. Conversely, if it is unaware, the problem is equally severe. It is TikTok’s own algorithm that gradually leads users to this content,” the report asserts.
Escalating Concerns and User Interactions
The analysis also recorded over 12,000 comments related to the search, request, exchange, or sale of child sexual abuse material. These interactions originated from 7,725 distinct accounts, all of which were identified as Spanish-speaking users. However, the investigation warns that there are thousands of additional profiles operating in other languages.
Researchers highlighted that at least 55 of these interactions suggested that their authors possessed child sexual abuse material they had produced themselves. Some users even admitted that the content involved minors from their own families, including children, cousins, or nephews.
Throughout the 35 days of the investigation, Maldita.es uncovered over 10,000 comments from Spanish-speaking paedophiles bragging about their behaviours without any intervention from the platform. Furthermore, it was documented that TikTok’s private messaging feature was being utilised to establish contacts and negotiate exchanges of such material.
Legal Implications and TikTok’s Response
The foundation has accused the company of maintaining a limited response despite sharing its findings with TikTok. To assess the effectiveness of its moderation mechanisms, the organisation selected 50 videos containing explicit child sexual abuse material from the more than 1,000 identified during the investigation and reported them through the platform’s official tools, using two different accounts.
In response, TikTok removed only five videos, representing a mere 10% of the sample, while restricting access to another 13 exclusively within Spain. In three instances, there was no definitive resolution during the monitoring period: two remained under review, and one received no response after 72 hours. The remaining 29 videos were deemed by the platform as not violating its guidelines.
The organisation emphasised that TikTok has legal responsibilities in relation to these incidents under Spanish and European legislation. Article 189 of the Spanish Penal Code prescribes prison sentences for those who produce, sell, distribute, exhibit, or offer child pornography. Additionally, the European Union’s Digital Services Regulation mandates that platforms must act swiftly to remove illegal content or block access upon awareness of its existence.
Wider Implications for TikTok’s Content Moderation
“TikTok’s inaction regarding this content, even after being alerted, warrants closer legal scrutiny, raising questions about whether the platform is fulfilling its obligations,” stated the Maldita.es team.
The allegations from the foundation, coupled with the investigation initiated by the Ministry of Youth and Childhood, contribute to a growing catalogue of accusations and legal proceedings examining the implications of TikTok’s design on user welfare, as well as the efficacy of its content moderation systems.
In recent years, the social media platform has faced criticism for allegedly facilitating fraud and scams, alongside allowing the circulation of violent, illegal, and harmful content. The company has consistently denied these claims, asserting that it has the necessary safeguards in place to prevent and combat such situations. However, Maldita.es’s investigation underscores the shortcomings of TikTok’s oversight mechanisms and calls into question its ability to curb the circulation of child sexual abuse material, among other harmful content.
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