2d ago

TikTok profiting from sexual livestreams involving children, BBC told

www.bbc.com TikTok profiting from sexual livestreams in Kenya involving children, BBC told

Young women in Kenya tell the BBC they have used TikTok to sell sexual content since they were teenagers.

TikTok is profiting from sexual livestreams performed by teens as young as 15, the BBC has been told.

We spoke to three women in Kenya who said they began this activity as teenagers. They told us they used TikTok to openly advertise and negotiate payment for more explicit content that would be sent via other messaging platforms.

4 comments

Frankly, this should be a surprise to no one. I bet Instagram is full of that, too, since both platforms are almost identical nowadays.
I remember an article, I think from 2019, that showed how easy it was to find teenagers dancing for whatever those TikTok points are that they could redeem for actual cash. On a few occasions, the journo asked on stream "how old is she?", which got him insta kicked and, on another, the girl desperately tried to claim she was 18

I can buy that TikTok created an opportunity for this kind of market by being incredibly popular with young people and having the ability to exchange payment. But, I also wonder if people are using meta or x platforms to do the exact same thing?
It's interesting to me when TikTok gets singled out for this sort of story. Especially after Mitt Romney revealed that the US sees TikTok as a danger not because of China spying and propaganda, but because of the pro Palestine content.
Very strong "It must be banned now, won't someone think of the children??!" vibes.
- But, I also wonder if people are using meta or x platforms to do the exact same thing?
  Absolutely. And they're using Youtube, Fediverse platforms, old-fashioned forums, and anything else that you can have user-generated content posted on it.
  TikTok is being singled out because the real story of 'every platform has CSAM and CSAM for sale' is not very palatable for the oligarchs that own the platforms, and it's much simpler to point to a foreign-owned platform as "the problem" and not the ones they run/invest in.

Funny how TikTok brings out the whataboutism. You never seen someone bring up TikTok when it’s bad press for Twitter.