---
title: "Ofcom investigates TikTok's age checks"
description: "Ofcom opened a formal investigation on 16 July 2026 into whether TikTok can tell which users are children."
canonical: https://parentalcontrols.co.uk/news/ofcom-tiktok-age-checks-investigation
---

Ban news

# Ofcom is investigating TikTok over the age checks the ban will rely on

The regulator has opened a formal investigation into whether TikTok can tell which of its users are children: the same question the under-16 ban will turn on.

![](/assets/anna-moss.jpg)

By **[Anna Moss](/about)** · Manchester mum of one

Updated 22 July 2026

[Ban hub](/ban)

On 16 July 2026 Ofcom [opened a formal investigation](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children/investigation-into-tiktoks-compliance-with-duties-to-protect-children-from-encountering-harmful-content-under-section-12) into whether TikTok is meeting its duty to protect children under section 12 of the Online Safety Act. At its centre is one question: whether the app's age checks are, in Ofcom's words, "highly effective at correctly determining whether or not a particular user is a child".

The concern is a method called age inference. Rather than confirming age with a document or a face scan, TikTok estimates it from how someone behaves: the videos they watch, the accounts they follow. Ofcom's worry is that models like this "may have failed to correctly identify a significant proportion of children", leaving them exposed to content the law says should be kept from them.

The investigation landed the day after Ofcom's [age assurance report](https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children/use-of-age-assurance-report-2026), published 15 July, which found that "social media companies have failed to enforce their minimum age requirements properly". The same report ruled that age inference "cannot be appropriate for the purposes of the ban or minimum age enforcement", because it can only work after a child has already signed up and started using the service.

Ofcom's first step is gathering evidence, which it expects to take at least three months, with an update due in October 2026. Opening an investigation does not mean it has decided TikTok broke the law. If it finds a breach, the fine can reach £18 million or 10% of worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. TikTok says it is confident it meets its obligations and will work with Ofcom to show it.

What this means for you

Nothing changes on your child's phone today. But this is the first real test of the age checks the 2027 ban will depend on, and the regulator has now said plainly that guessing a user's age from their behaviour is not enough on its own. Our [age-checks explainer](/guides/age-checks) covers the sturdier methods likely to replace it.