Newly surfaced depositions and internal documents allege that TikTok profited from livestream content featuring minors in exploitative sexual situations. Staff warned company leaders that adults were paying minors through the livestream “gift” system, and TikTok would keep a portion of that revenue—raising potential legal and ethical violations. The concerns, first flagged internally, apparently saw little action from the top. Major issues also include age gates being bypassed and parents unable to see or control minors’ viewing activity. For years, TikTok reportedly avoided conducting user age surveys to avoid being compelled to share results with the Federal Trade Commission.
What the Evidence Shows
Court filings from March 2026 reveal that employees repeatedly raised alarms about sexual content involving minors on TikTok Live, which could be paid for by viewers using virtual gifts. These alerts included reports that children as young as 13 to 15 appeared in paid sexual content, with TikTok identifying that “significant revenue” was generated from such livestreams—revenue the company kept after its cut. Workers said the process was ongoing, with executives allegedly dismissing the harms as not serious enough.
Another troubling claim: minors were reportedly using loopholes to get access to age-restricted content and to hide their viewing activity from guardians via TikTok’s Family Pairing feature. And critically, TikTok chose not to conduct surveys that would more clearly establish how many of its users are minors. Documents suggest this was due to fear of having to share the data with federal regulators, namely the FTC.
Legal Obligations and Company Response
U.S. law mandates that platforms report suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and any transactions that resemble child exploitation to authorities and law enforcement agencies. Platforms are also legally required to notify the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (via the CyberTipline) when they have knowledge of abuse. If minors are paid for sexual content, the platform may face allegations of financial crimes or even money laundering.
TikTok rejected the claims, saying they’re drawn from selective information provided by litigants and that they misrepresent the company’s track record on youth safety. TikTok pointed to investments in trust and safety tools—including policies for teens and parental control features—as proof of its commitment.
The allegations have emerged as part of a broader, multi-district litigation that began in 2022, which accuses TikTok and other tech platforms of failing to disclose harms posed to users under 18. TikTok has already reached settlements in some related cases: in May it settled with a rural Kentucky school district over claims tied to youth mental health, and in September the state of Alabama settled over allegations the service is addictive and harmful to minors.
18 United States Code Section 2258A requires providers to report apparent CSAM, online sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking to NCMEC’s CyberTipline whenever they become aware of such violations. The legal framework obligates companies not only to remove content but also preserve related records and report materials as soon as possible.
Whether or how these internal warnings might lead to criminal investigations is still unfolding. Stakeholders, including regulators, lawmakers, and civil society, are closely watching.
What this means is serious. Despite public assurances and safety tools, these documents suggest system-wide exposure to risk for young users—financial and legal—for TikTok. If courts find that TikTok knowingly allowed exploitative content to generate profit, liability could stretch beyond civil penalties into criminal territory. Going forward, we’ll see if legislation tightens, regulators investigate, and TikTok offers more transparency or reforms in how it handles user age data and internal reports of abuse.
