AI sex ads and deepfake micro-dramas are infiltrating children’s feeds — but TikTok says it’s legal

AI generated micro dramas and advertisements for deepfake apps are appearing in TikTok feeds that children can use, raising concerns about exposure to explicit material and the creation of sexual images without consent. The story says TikTok has no children’s content filter, and its recommendation system may show more of a clip’s subject after a viewer watches it through.

The short episodes, linked to China’s duanju industry valued at $14 billion, often feature sexualised fantasy and violence, and some adverts direct users to apps that create explicit deepfakes. Copyleaks says it identified nearly 50 such apps in Apple’s App Store; Apple said it removed three apps cited in its report on 29 July and that nudification apps breach its rules. The article also reports that TikTok ads promoted many of the apps and that some tools restrict screenshots, complicating reports.