Company executives did not adequately address TikTok child safety warnings raised by employees, according to court records NPR reviewed. The testimony describes internal concerns about sexual exploitation, suicide-related content and teenagers bypassing safety restrictions.
Employee depositions filed in March 2026 detail repeated attempts to alert senior leadership to potential risks. An NPR investigation examined the records and suggests some employees were frustrated by the company’s response.
TikTok Child Safety Warnings Included Exploitation Risks
Employees reported that minors appeared in sexually exploitative livestreams where viewers could purchase virtual gifts. Because TikTok receives revenue from its gifting system, the activity raised concerns about potential financial and criminal liability.
Former safety executive Reagen Maher testified that she repeatedly raised concerns about exploitation involving TikTok Live. She said senior executives knew about the problems before they became public in 2022.
Other testimony described loopholes that let underage users access restricted content and bypass parental controls. Employees also warned about recommendation algorithms repeatedly exposing vulnerable users to harmful material, including content involving suicide and self-harm.
The records suggest TikTok avoided certain age-related surveys because it feared the Federal Trade Commission might request the findings. Such information could have raised questions about compliance with federal children’s privacy protections.
The revelations follow separate allegations involving TikTok’s safety tools. An earlier New York lawsuit accused the platform of testing nonfunctional safety features on users, including children. TikTok has disputed claims that its safety practices were misleading.
TikTok Rejects Allegations About Its Safety Practices
TikTok strongly disputed the characterization of its internal records. A spokesperson said litigation attorneys selectively presented the allegations and misrepresented the company’s commitment to protecting younger users.
The company said it has invested billions of dollars in safety operations and introduced more than 50 preset protections for teenagers. These include Family Pairing, which allows parents to manage aspects of their children’s experience.
TikTok has also joined Lantern, a cross-platform child safety initiative designed to help technology companies identify and address online exploitation.
Child Safety Litigation Continues Against Social Platforms
TikTok faces hundreds of coordinated lawsuits alongside Meta, Google and Snap. Plaintiffs allege the companies designed harmful features and failed to disclose risks to minors adequately.
TikTok has settled several cases. In September, it agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million over allegations involving addictive design and child safety.
The company also settled a case before a Los Angeles trial in which jurors subsequently found Meta and YouTube liable for harmful platform design. TikTok’s settlement did not establish liability in that case.
The newly reported employee testimony has not yet been presented to a jury in the consolidated federal litigation. The allegations remain contested as courts examine how social media companies addressed known risks to younger users.
