Ofcom, the UK's media regulator, has initiated a formal investigation into TikTok's approach to protecting children on its platform, following heightened government scrutiny of social media's role in youth safety. The timing reflects escalating regulatory pressure, coming just weeks after the UK government signalled plans to restrict access to social media for users under 16 years old. The investigation will assess TikTok's methods for identifying whether users are children and the effectiveness of its safeguards against exposing young people to potentially harmful material.

At the centre of Ofcom's examination is TikTok's reliance on 'age inference' technology, which attempts to determine a user's age based on their behaviour patterns on the platform, including which videos they watch and how they interact with others. Ofcom has expressed significant concerns about whether this approach meets regulatory standards requiring 'highly effective' age verification. Whilst TikTok maintains it complies with safety obligations and has invested heavily in protective measures comparable to other major platforms, the regulator's scepticism about the robustness of age inference suggests a fundamental disagreement over whether current methods adequately protect minors.