TikTok USA recommends drugs, alcohol to children

TikTok actively recommended drugs, alcohol, and sexual content to children as young as 13, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation.

The WSJ set up a series of fake accounts to see how TikTok's algorithm worked. TikTok served one account registered as a 13-year-old at least 569 videos about drug use, references to cocaine and meth addiction, and promotional videos for online sales of drug products and paraphernalia. 

Despite their age settings, the more sexual content the teenagers viewed, the more they were given in return, with hundreds of similar videos appearing in the feeds of the Journal’s other minor accounts.

A spokesperson told the Journal that it had removed some of the reported videos, and restricted distribution of others. It also said it does not currently differentiate between content served to adults and children, but that it was working to on a new filter for younger users.  

Investigations, assessments, audits 🧐

• Wall Street Journal (2021). How TikTok serves up drug videos to minors

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9970435/TikToks-algorithm-promoting-sexual-content-children-young-13.html

• https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/tiktok-is-evil/

• https://www.christianpost.com/news/tiktok-served-videos-with-adult-content-to-minors-report.html

• https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/16087636/tiktok-investigation-sex-drugs-booze/

• https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsbirmingham/warning-issued-to-any-tiktok-user-who-is-aged-between-13-and-15/ar-AAOfODu

• https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-explicit-videos-sex-and-drugs-to-minors-report-2021-9