TikTok takes a 50%-70% cut from livestreams, A BBC report and court documents claim that some of these are sexual and involve children.

Warning: Article contains graphic details of a sexual nature

BBC reports that TikTok is profiting from sexual livestreams performed by teens as young as 15 years old. They spoke to three women in Kenya who said they began this TikTok activity as teenagers, where they openly advertise and negotiate payment for more explicit content that would be sent via other platforms.

BBC watched some of these TikTok livestreams and saw performers used code words to prompt DMs for sexual requests. Users would also send emoji gifts which can be converted to cash.

TikTok bans solicitation but the BBC report says the company knows it takes place. A past report from BBC uncovered that TikTok takes a cut of about 70% from all livestream transactions. TikTok denied this, but a newer investigation from BBC says it’s still taking around the same amount.

TikTok told the BBC it has ‘zero tolerance for exploitation’.

According to the report, livestreams from Kenya are popular on TikTok and nightly they found up to a dozen dancing suggestively with hundreds of viewers from around the world.

A former TikTok moderator based in Kenya says ‘It’s not in TikTok’s interest to clamp down on soliciting of sex – the more people give gifts on a livestream… [the] more revenue for TikTok.’

In Kenya, TikTok has become a platform where individuals, including minors, engage in sexualized livestreams to earn money. Former moderators from companies that TikTok outsources to in Kenya have reported that about 80% of flagged livestreams involve sexual content or the solicitation of sexual services. However, TikTok’s moderation guidelines are limited, often failing to account for local slang and suggestive gestures, making it challenging to effectively monitor and control such content. This issue is exacerbated by TikTok’s reliance on AI, which struggles to detect nuanced local expressions.

ChildFund Kenya and other charities have told the BBC that children as young as nine are participating in these activities, with teenage girls and young women spending up to six or seven hours nightly, earning an average of £30 per day—sufficient for basic necessities like food and transportation. Influential TikTok users, acting as digital pimps, host these livestreams, taking a significant portion of the earnings. Some maintain backup accounts, indicating previous bans or suspensions by TikTok.

TikTok has allegedly known for years about the child exploitation in its livestreams. In 2022, they had their own internal investigation, but ignored the issue because it ‘profited significantly’ from them, according to the claims of a lawsuit brought by the US state of Utah last year. TikTok responded that the ongoing lawsuit ignored the ‘proactive measures’ it had made to improve safety.

Recently unsealed documents from the Utah Attorney General’s Office reveal that TikTok’s internal investigation, dubbed ‘Project Meramec,’ confirmed the company was aware that hundreds of thousands of minors were accessing its LIVE feature and that its age restrictions were ineffective. The investigation further revealed that TikTok knew children were being sexually exploited through its livestreams, but opted not to intervene due to the platform’s significant financial gains. Court filings allege that TikTok takes as much as 50% of every money exchange made through its live platform, profiting off virtual gifts that have been used as currency in these exploitative transactions. Another internal probe, ‘Project Jupiter,’ found that the same livestream system and virtual currency also facilitated money laundering, drug sales, and the funding of terrorist groups, such as ISIL.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office has accused TikTok of deliberately creating an ecosystem where virtual currency is exchanged for sexual and illegal acts. The complaint highlights how TikTok’s algorithm favors and boosts live feeds receiving high amounts of digital gifts, meaning content involving money laundering, sexual exploitation, or both is prioritized and pushed to the top of user feeds under the “TopLives” section. As a result, vulnerable children, new users, and those unfamiliar with the platform are exposed to this content without warning, creating a dangerous and easily accessible hub for criminal activity.

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