TikTok accused of helping to promote sex industry to girls

A report by UK and Australian campaign groups accuses TikTok of helping OnlyFans performers promote paid sexual content to young audiences through coded references in ordinary lifestyle videos. The researchers argue that this can make selling sexual content seem like an attractive route to wealth and independence, particularly to girls who follow popular creators.

The study examined a year of non-explicit TikTok posts and recommendations from the platform’s algorithm. It found euphemisms such as “corn” for porn, alongside claims of luxury lifestyles and stories presenting OnlyFans as a way out of poverty. The report says the top 5,000 OnlyFans creators have each earned more than $1m since 2016, while average annual earnings among its five million registered performers are estimated at about $1,000.