Predators TikTok 2 Buffet Pedophiles

Over 20,200 comments, 1,600 accounts and 380 videos analysed: this is an investigation by Maldita.es into how TikTok has become an open buffet for pedophiles looking to ‘prey’ on minors.

This is what we have found

Over 1,300 pedophiles in the comments on videos of young girls on TikTok
- In just 50 videos, we have found 1,383 potential pedophiles asking to exchange, give away, or sell child pornography.
- They have their own code to identify each other. This is the pedophile dictionary on TikTok.
The modus operandi: moving the conversation to encrypted platforms
- Telegram is the preferred site, but Zangi —a platform with a military encryption system and anonymous registration used by criminal networks— is gaining ground.

These are the 5 strategies that pedophiles use to recruit minors

“Those born in 2012, 2013 and 2014, post your photos”
- Requesting images of girls aged 14, 13 and 12 years old. In just 15 videos, we have identified 5,000 images of minors who post their photos in the comments, accumulating over a million views.
Virtual boyfriends
- A TikTok trend where boys and girls look for a virtual boyfriend, but which is also used by pedophiles to gain access to children aged between 6 and 12: their images, contact details and even their location.
The CapCut age template + photo
- A template from the social media platform itself where a user reveals their supposed age and asks others in the comments.
- We have found 100 videos of children aged between 9 and 13 that have accumulated over 5 million views with dozens of comments from adults.
Rating ‘tits & dick pics’
- A growing trend: asking for images to be rated or offering to be a rater. 300 comments across 15 videos asking to rate “from 8 to 18”, “9, 10, 11, 12” or “only 11 years old or younger”.
Hormonal groups
- These are groups outside TikTok, mostly on WhatsApp, where underage participants are encouraged to send images and videos with sexual content.
- Maldita.es has joined several and yes, there are minors.

And what does TikTok say about all this? We have put its child protection systems to the test, and they do not work

TikTok already knows that there are at least 100 users asking for child pornography and offering it on its platform (because we have told them): however, TikTok has not banned them, in violation of its own rules
- We reported 100 comments to TikTok requesting the exchange of child pornography, and TikTok, after reviewing them, deleted 99% of them.
- Their rules also state that if you are caught facilitating child pornography, your account will be closed immediately. However, 96% of the reported accounts remain active.
TikTok says it bans accounts belonging to children under 13, but it does not enforce the rule even if you report it
- We reported 35 accounts that claim in their videos to be under 13 years old: TikTok took no action on 97% of the accounts.

All of this has real consequences for the children who are victims of these 1,300 pedophiles: from grooming to the non-consensual distribution of their images and sextortion. Here is what you can do if you come across these videos or comments on TikTok, and here what you can do if a child under your care is a victim of grooming.

Share this investigation with your contacts so that TikTok has to apply its CSAM policies. If you have children in your care who use social media, explain to them what we have found so that they are aware of what is happening on the platform where they spend the most time. If you can, help us continue investigating the big platforms with your support.

Predators on TikTok 2 is the second part of an investigation that began by exposing how, from AI-generated images or images that were never originally intended to be sexualised, pedophiles found a goldmine to exploit through their gaze. You can read the first part, Predators on TikTok: a Goldmine for Pedophiles, here.

First part · Investigation

Predators on TikTok: a Goldmine for Pedophiles

Read the first part

This is what we have found

Over 1,300 pedophiles in the comments on videos of young girls on TikTok

The modus operandi: moving the conversation to encrypted platforms

“Trade, gift, sell”: 1,300 pedophiles caught on TikTok, the marketplace of child pornography

1,300 pedophiles exchange child pornography on TikTok: this is their coded language

These are the 5 strategies that pedophiles use to recruit minors

“Those born in 2012, 2013 and 2014, post your photos”

Virtual boyfriends

The CapCut age template + photo

Rating ‘tits & dick pics’

Hormonal groups

“Those born in 2012, 2013 and 2014, leave your pics”: how pedophiles access more than 5,000 images of minors and TikTok allows it

“Looking for a virtual boyfriend, ages 6-8”: how this trend among minors turns TikTok into a buffet for pedophiles

“I’m 50 years old, beautiful baby”: pedophiles hunting for children under 13 with the help of a TikTok template

“I rate dick pics and boob pics”: pedophiles on TikTok pose as minors to obtain child pornography

Inside a ‘hormonal group’: how TikTok is used to lure minors into WhatsApp groups for sexual content

And what does TikTok say about all this? We have put its child protection systems to the test, and they do not work

TikTok already knows that there are at least 100 users asking for child pornography and offering it on its platform (because we have told them): however, TikTok has not banned them, in violation of its own rules

TikTok says it bans accounts belonging to children under 13, but it does not enforce the rule even if you report it

TikTok agreed with 99% of our reports of child sexual abuse on its platform: it still left the accounts online against its own policies

TikTok ‘bans’ children under-13, but did nothing on 97% of the accounts we flagged that proclaim to be as young as 9

Predators on TikTok: a Goldmine for Pedophiles