TikTok was repeatedly cautioned by its own workers about the dangers the platform poses to children, according to court filings obtained by NPR. The records indicate that employees grew frustrated with the way senior leaders handled concerns about sexual exploitation and exposure to suicide‑related material. Depositions taken from staff in March 2026 are now shedding new light on the company’s approach to child safety.
NPR reports that TikTok workers pointed out that minors were appearing in sexual content that could be bought on the app, raising the specter that the firm might profit from potentially illegal activity. They also noted that young users were exploiting loopholes to reach age‑restricted material and conceal their activity from parents. The court documents further reveal that TikTok chose not to conduct surveys to verify users’ ages because of worries that the results might have to be shared with the Federal Trade Commission.
A TikTok spokesperson responded to TechCrunch by saying, “These citations and claims are clearly cherry‑picked at the behest of trial lawyers and used to inaccurately rewrite our history and mislead the public about our commitment to youth safety and how our platform works.” The spokesperson added that the company has provided “numerous documents and resources” that demonstrate how the allegations mischaracterize its record and platform features. “We have invested billions of dollars in Trust & Safety and rolled out more than 50 preset safety, privacy, and security settings for teens, including Family Pairing, which helps parents and guardians customize the experience for their teens. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the well‑being of our community,” the statement said.
TikTok, along with Meta, Google and Snap, is facing hundreds of lawsuits that have been consolidated in federal court. The cases allege that the platforms harm minors and that the companies failed to disclose known risks to young users. TikTok has already settled several of these actions before they went to trial, including a case in Los Angeles where a jury found that Meta and YouTube had designed their services to be addictive to young people.