Spain: investigation finds 20,000 suspected paedophile TikTok profiles

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1. 50m ago

   Spain Demands TikTok Suspension Over Child Abuse Content

   Spanish authorities are demanding that TikTok suspend operations until child sexual abuse material is completely removed from the platform. An ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor's Office for Criminality and Data Protection officials uncovered 20,000 suspected paedophile profiles operating on the short-video sharing platform. Investigators also detected more than a thousand child sexual abuse videos, while related probes revealed minors livestreaming from school classrooms while predators join to harass them. Spanish officials and political leaders are calling for immediate accountability, insisting that illegal digital acts carry the same weight as street crimes.

   Why it matters

   The escalating confrontation between Spain and TikTok highlights growing regulatory friction over child safety enforcement on major social media platforms. European authorities are increasingly willing to push for outright national suspensions when platforms fail to curb illicit material and predator networks. This case focuses intense scrutiny on content moderation practices within viral video apps.

   What is confirmed

   • Spain demanded that TikTok suspend operations until child sexual abuse material is gone.
   • An investigation found 20,000 suspected paedophile TikTok profiles in Spain.
   • The Prosecutor's Office for Criminality is investigating the dissemination of child sexual abuse material on TikTok while Data Protection prepares blockades.

   Still unconfirmed

   • Minors livestream from school while predators join to harass them, and groups use TikTok to share abuse material.

   What to watch next

   • Decisions by Spanish regulators regarding the enforcement of a TikTok blockade
   • Official responses from TikTok concerning the demands for operational suspension
   Sources used for this update (12)

   1. www.euronews.com — French debt | Euronews
   2. Euronews — Spain: investigation finds 20,000 suspected paedophile TikTok profiles
   3. Reuters — Spain demands that TikTok suspend operations until child sexual abuse material gone
   4. Al Jazeera — Spain pushes to suspend TikTok after probe into child sex abuse videos
   5. maldita.es — TikTok Live enters the classroom: minors livestream from school while predators join to harass them
   6. El Constitucional — Feijóo demands action against TikTok after more than a thousand child sexual abuse videos were detected: "What is a crime on the street will also be a crime in the digital world"
   7. maldita.es — The ‘Pizza Universe’ : hundreds of accounts, a shared code and how easy is to find them
   8. NBC News — Spain demands TikTok suspension until child abuse material is removed
   9. maldita.es — ‘Team 94’: 2,000 followers of a man who rapes babies use TikTok to share his videos and exchange their own material
   10. El Constitucional — The Prosecutor's Office for Criminality investigates the dissemination of child sexual abuse material on TikTok and Data Protection prepares blockades in Spain
   11. Le Monde.fr — Spain to investigate alleged child sexual abuse material on TikTok
   12. en.dailyinqilab.com — Spain Considers TikTok Ban Over Failure to Protect Children - The Daily Inqilab
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