The TikTok spokesperson said that child sexual abuse material and so-called grooming behavior is instantly removed from the site, the user’s account immediately banned and a report made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, a centralized reporting system for incidents of online sexual exploitation of children. Federal law requires electronic service providers such as social-media companies to report child sexual abuse material to the tip line.
The federal law doesn’t require sites to actively seek out child sexual abuse material, considered a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor. The law also doesn’t stipulate what evidence must be turned over to the tip line. Fines for knowingly failing to report can go up to $300,000, though as of Jan. 20, the national center wasn’t aware of any company ever being fined. Legislation aimed at toughening the law has been introduced in the Senate.
TikTok made 154,618 reports in 2021 to the tip line, a record for the platform with over one billion monthly active users, up from 596 reports in 2019.
John Shehan, senior vice president of the national center’s Exploited Children Division and Internal Engagement, said TikTok’s numbers had grown but remained lower than some other comparable sites, some of which made millions of reports in 2021.