Spain Considers TikTok Suspension Over Investigation into Child Exploitation Content
By Staff, Agencies
Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children has asked prosecutors to investigate the circulation of child sexual abuse material on TikTok and raised the possibility of suspending the platform’s services nationwide, according to Spanish media reports on Monday.
In a letter addressed to the attorney general’s office, the ministry called for urgent measures to protect children following an investigation by Spanish nonprofit organization Maldita.es, which uncovered widespread explicit material involving minors on the popular social media platform.
The ministry suggested suspending TikTok’s operations in Spain “if deemed appropriate,” according to the Spanish news agency EFE, citing ministry sources.
In a report published Monday, Maldita.es said it identified 1,182 public posts containing explicit child sexual abuse material during a 35-day investigation.
According to the organization, the posts accumulated approximately 48 million views, with TikTok’s search and recommendation systems helping researchers locate the material.
Some accounts used emojis and pixelation to conceal portions of explicit images while advertising full videos for sale. Others displayed explicit material openly, including as profile pictures.
Researchers also discovered non-explicit photographs of children being used to direct users toward channels where abusive material was bought, sold or exchanged.
“What is clear is that content we once associated with the darkest corners of the internet is now in plain sight,” Maldita.es stated.
The organization said it submitted 50 videos to TikTok through the platform’s reporting system. The company subsequently removed five videos and restricted another 13 in Spain.
Of the 231 accounts identified as having published explicit material, 136 were still active on October 15, the investigation’s final day.
The most-viewed video had accumulated more than four million views before TikTok blocked it in Spain. However, the account responsible for publishing it remained active when the investigation was released.
Maldita.es also identified more than 7,700 Spanish-language accounts whose users reportedly claimed to possess child sexual abuse material, requested it, or offered to distribute it.
The investigation further examined 91 livestreams involving minors in 17 countries.
Researchers reported that viewers offered children money in exchange for fulfilling various requests, including sexual requests, while broadcasting from their homes or schools.
The nonprofit said TikTok’s virtual gifting system allowed viewers to transfer payments to children during livestreams, while the platform itself generated revenue from these transactions.
Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego has requested an urgent meeting with TikTok representatives in Spain to demand explanations about the company’s existing child-protection safeguards and the immediate measures it intends to introduce.
According to EFE, ministry sources described the findings as “of extreme gravity” and called for coordinated action by Spanish and European authorities.
The ministry raised particular concerns about shortcomings in TikTok’s content detection and moderation systems, as well as the possible role of its recommendation algorithms in facilitating the circulation of abusive material.
Maldita.es has submitted its findings to Spanish prosecutors specializing in cybercrime and announced that additional evidence will be published in the coming days.
TikTok requested further information when approached by the nonprofit but had not responded to questions about its child-protection measures or the investigation’s findings by the time the report was published.
The investigation has intensified pressure on Spanish authorities to hold social media platforms accountable for protecting minors, with a possible nationwide suspension of TikTok now being considered as one of the measures available to the government.
