Spain mulls TikTok suspension after investigation into child sex abuse videos

Spain is considering suspending TikTok after an independent investigation found more than 1,000 child sexual abuse videos on the platform with a total of 48 million views. Spanish foundation Maldita.es said it detected more than 20,000 profiles of suspected paedophiles – 7,000 of them in Spanish – during the 35 days it monitored the popular video-blogging platform in September and October.

The nonprofit organisation, which aims to combat disinformation and promote transparency, also accused TikTok of amplifying content by minors in the algorithm, and profiting from their abuse. “Abuse is not hidden away in a little corner and it is not hard to find,” Clara Jimenez Cruz, Maldita.es cofounder and chief executive, said.

During its investigation, “TikTok: Home to predators”, Maldita.es said it analysed profiles, comments and live broadcasts and created its own accounts to see how the algorithm responded. It said that in just three days the algorithm recommended 19 livestreams by minors, including 15 in a single morning, all recorded from schools.