48 million views: Spain considers pausing TikTok after child abuse study
A Spanish nonprofit found over 1,000 abuse videos on the platform during a 35-day monitoring period in September and October.
By Lauren Foster ·
Spanish officials are weighing a temporary suspension of TikTok following a report that found 48 million views of child sexual abuse videos on the app.
The data comes from an independent investigation by Maldita.es, a Spanish nonprofit that monitors digital transparency. The organization tracked the platform for 35 days in September and October. They identified more than 20,000 profiles linked to suspected paedophiles. Of those accounts, 7,000 were active in Spanish. The report, titled TikTok: Home to predators, analyzed user profiles, comments, and live broadcasts. The team created test accounts to observe the algorithm. Within three days, the system suggested 19 livestreams featuring minors. On one specific morning, 15 such streams were recommended. All were recorded in school settings.
Clara Jimenez Cruz, cofounder and chief executive of Maldita.es, said the material is easily accessible. She noted that users do not need to search for it in obscure sections. The study found 231 profiles that posted 1,183 explicit items. Another 780 accounts appeared to attract buyers. More than 10,000 accounts sought exchanges of sexual images in comments. The total count reached approximately 26,000 suspected paedophile accounts. Maldita.es has sent these details to authorities. One example cited a 10-year-old Spanish girl receiving suggestive comments from an adult male during a livestream. The report stated children were encouraged to perform sexualized actions for digital gifts. These gifts cost real money, and TikTok takes a portion of the transactions.
The Ministry of Youth and Children has requested urgent explanations from TikTok representatives in Spain. Minister Sira Rego has demanded a meeting with the platform's team. Prosecutors have been asked to act on alleged cases of child sexual abuse. The ministry posted on X that it is raising the possibility of suspending the app. TikTok is owned by the Chinese parent company ByteDance. Maldita.es criticized the platform's reaction to the findings. When the report was published on Monday, TikTok had removed only one tenth of the flagged content. The organization stated that only a quarter of illegal posts in Spain had been blocked.
TikTok faces multiple lawsuits and investigations regarding the protection of minors. The company has previously denied these accusations. On Friday, the European Union instructed TikTok to modify the design of its personalized For You feed. The EU warned that the current structure is harmful. The warning comes with the potential for fines under digital content regulations.
