Overview
- Ofcom published an Age Assurance Report this week and launched a formal investigation of TikTok on Thursday, July 16, to examine whether its ‘age inference’ methods correctly identify under‑18 users.
- The report shows rapid rollout of age checks since the Online Safety Act took effect but found gaps, with the share of children encountering highly effective age checks rising from 25% to 43% between July 2025 and January 2026.
- Ofcom said behavioural age inference is not listed in its guidance as a ‘highly effective’ method and expressed serious doubts that such models reliably detect significant numbers of children.
- TikTok says it enforces age‑appropriate experiences, is confident it meets the law and will cooperate, while Ofcom has opened 23 investigations into 88 adult services and can fine firms up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying revenue.
- Ofcom flagged discoverability risks for unprotected porn sites on search engines and is working with Google and Microsoft on fixes while promising Parliament a definition of ‘highly effective’ checks by October and an app‑store report by January 2027.