Spanish Government takes Maldita.es’s investigation into child sexual abuse on TikTok to the Public Prosecutor and considers suspending the platform in Spain

Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children has asked the State Attorney General’s Office (Fiscalía General del Estado) to open an investigation into TikTok following Maldita.es’s investigation into child sexual abuse on the platform. It is also considering suspending the platform’s services in Spain, according to El País. Minister Sira Rego announced it on Bluesky a few hours after the investigation was published: “The facts documented by Maldita.es about child sexual abuse on TikTok are extremely serious. The Ministry of Youth and Children has asked the Public Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation and we have just requested an urgent meeting with the platform’s representatives in Spain.”

According to ministry sources quoted by El País, “the facts documented by Maldita.es are extremely serious and require an immediate and coordinated response from all the competent authorities, both nationally and at European level”. In its submission, the Government passes the information to the Public Prosecutor so that it can take the necessary measures to protect any children who may be affected.

The Secretary of State for Youth and Children, Rubén Pérez Correa, pointed on X to the platform’s own responsibility: “If a platform allows children to be abused in its spaces, the problem is not only the abuser. At @JuventudInfGob we have taken what @maldita documented on TikTok to the Public Prosecutor and requested an urgent meeting. They will have to explain themselves.”

The first instalment of Maldita.es’s investigation documents more than 1,000 pieces of content with explicit images of child sexual abuse posted on TikTok, which have amassed 48 million views. Some had been on the platform for four months without being removed. Maldita.es has also reported the facts to the Public Prosecutor.