TikTok Is Making Money From Kenyan Children Performing Sexual Livestreams

TikTok is profiting from young women and teenagers as young as 15 performing sexual livestreams, the BBC has been told. Three women in Kenya shared they started these activities as teenagers, using TikTok to publicize their business and negotiate payment for more risqué content sent on other messaging platforms.

The app takes a cut of roughly 70% from all livestream transactions, according to a previous report by the BBC. Though TikTok forbids solicitation, moderators stated they are aware that it occurs on the platform.

Sexual livestreams on TikTok

Livestreams in Kenya gain significant traction on TikTok, as several women performing suggestive dances have hundreds of viewers worldwide. Viewers privately message these women for more explicit requests, such as watching the TikToker masturbate, strip or engage in sexual activities with other women. Coded sexual slang is used to promote sexual services on some of the livestreams watched by the BBC.

The emoji gifts work as payments for TikTok livestreams, and as the app removes any suggestive acts or nudity, further explicit content is later sent to other platforms, and gifts can be changed into cash.

TikTok is conscious of the child exploitation in its livestreams; it previously ran an internal investigation in 2022. Still, it disregarded the issue as it “profited significantly” from them, as stated by the claims of a lawsuit brought by the US state of Utah last year, external.

Young Kenyan Girls making sexual content on TikTok

Charities like ChildFund Kenya spoke to the BBC, stating that children as young as nine are engaging in sexual activities on TikTok. One woman said she started selling herself on TikTok at 15 after being introduced to TikTok lives by a friend who helped her evade age restrictions rules. Livestreams can only be performed by users over the age of 18; you also need at least 1000 to go live.

Some girls and women admitted to meeting up with TikTok users for sex in person or being coerced into having sex with their pimps.

“TikTok has zero tolerance for exploitation. We enforce strict safety policies, including robust Live content rules, moderation in 70 languages, including Swahili, and we partner with local experts and creators, including our Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council to continually strengthen our approach,” a spokesperson told the BBC.

Image: Nappy