Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.medicaldaily.com
TikTok safety employees testified that they warned company leaders about risks to children on the app, including sexual exploitation in livestreams and exposure to suicide-related content, according to court depositions reviewed by NPR in a report published Oct. 20. The depositions were filed in federal court in March 2026 and had not been previously reported.
The testimony consists of allegations made in litigation, not findings by a judge or jury, and TikTok disputes them. Because the cases against TikTok have not yet gone before a jury, the depositions have not been submitted as evidence at trial.
The concerns touch a large share of American teens. About 68% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 said they use TikTok, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in fall 2025.
What Employees Say They Raised
The records surfaced as TikTok, Meta, Google, and Snap face a federal multidistrict litigation consolidated in 2022, which combines lawsuits alleging the companies designed platforms that harm young users.
Employees described minors appearing in sexual livestream content that viewers could pay for, with TikTok taking a share of the revenue. They also described loopholes that let users under 18 bypass age-restricted content and block parents from reviewing their activity. An internal investigation found that children ages 13 to 15 appeared in 112,000 TikTok Live videos in January 2022 alone, according to NPR.
The records also show staff worried that a 2018 survey of users’ ages could end up with the Federal Trade Commission. “If the FTC knows about this survey, they might want us to submit the results,” employee Adam Wang wrote in an internal chat.
Reagen Maher, who held senior safety and investigations roles at TikTok from 2021 to 2024, said her findings were escalated to V Pappas, then the company’s chief operating officer. “Put simply, senior leaders know about this issue,” Maher said, according to NPR. The employees were frustrated with how leadership responded to their concerns, according to a KFF Health News summary of the reporting.
Eric Han, TikTok’s head of safety from 2019 to 2023, testified that he became aware in April 2020 of algorithmic “rabbit holes” that steered users toward content about body image or suicide. A 2020 internal report he wrote warned of a “real contagion effect” tied to suicidal ideation and how it was discussed on the platform. Han said the company did not warn parents about those dangers.
TikTok’s Response and Other Legal Cases
TikTok rejected the reporting. Spokesperson Nathaniel Brown said the citations and claims were “clearly cherry-picked at the behest of trial lawyers and used to inaccurately rewrite our history” and would “mislead the public about our commitment to youth safety and how our platform works.”
Federal law requires platforms to report apparent child sexual abuse material, child sex trafficking and online enticement to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) once they have actual knowledge of such offenses, NPR reported. Silvija Krupena, who directs the financial intelligence unit at the U.K. consultancy RedCompass Labs, told NPR that companies that knowingly benefit from child sex trafficking can also face criminal liability, which is why warnings to executives matter. “Knowledge matters a great deal,” she said.
TikTok said it has an anti-money laundering program in line with international standards. It did not answer NPR’s questions about its reports to NCMEC or how it handled revenue from livestreams that broke its rules.
TikTok has settled other youth harm cases before trial. In May, TikTok and Snap each agreed to pay $8 million to settle a bellwether case brought by Kentucky’s Breathitt County School District in the federal litigation, Engadget reported. In September, TikTok agreed to pay at least $100 million and add teen safety features to settle a separate lawsuit brought by Alabama. A lawsuit filed by Utah’s attorney general in 2024 is still pending.
Other cases are moving forward. Earlier this month, New York alleged that TikTok gave some young users a “placebo” version of a feed reset feature that did not change what they saw, TechCrunch reported. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design of their platforms in a case brought by a young woman who said she was harmed by using them as a child, NPR reported. TikTok and Snap settled that case before trial.
Much of the conduct described in the depositions took place years before January 2026, when TikTok’s U.S. operations moved to a new joint venture majority-owned by American investors.
What Parents Can Check Now
Parents do not need to wait for the courts to review how a teen uses the app. TikTok’s Family Pairing tool, launched in 2020, links a parent’s account to a teen’s and lets parents manage screen time, messaging, and content settings. NPR reported that a 2021 internal chat showed teens could unlink their accounts through a hidden option. TikTok says it notifies parents when a teen unlinks.
TikTok turns off direct messages by default for users under 16. Parents can also keep a teen’s account private, check which livestreams a child watches or joins, and talk regularly about what the child sees online. Pediatricians and school counselors can help families set limits and spot warning signs such as withdrawal, sleep changes, or talk of hopelessness.
Any teen who mentions suicide or self-harm needs prompt help. Families can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and should seek emergency care if a child is in immediate danger. Suspected exploitation of a child can be reported to NCMEC’s CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678 and to local police.
Key Questions Answered
What do the court records show? TikTok safety staff testified that they warned leaders about minors in paid livestreams, age-restriction loopholes, and suicide-related content.
Are these proven facts? No. They are allegations in depositions filed in litigation, and TikTok disputes them.
How did TikTok respond? A spokesperson said the claims were cherry-picked at the behest of trial lawyers and misrepresent the company’s youth safety work.
Which lawsuits are involved? A federal multidistrict case against TikTok, Meta, Google and Snap, plus separate state lawsuits from Utah, New York and others.
What can parents do now? Review privacy, messaging, and screen time settings, use Family Pairing, and talk openly about online experiences.
Where can families get urgent help? Call or text 988 for suicide or self-harm concerns, and report suspected exploitation to NCMEC’s CyberTipline.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
