They trade child sex abuse material. They find each other on TikTok

An investigation into TikTok revealed that users seeking child sexual abuse material, including both AI-generated and real imagery, are using coded signals and networked account recommendations to locate one another and coordinate offsite trades on the platform. The reporter documented a persistent network of accounts sharing four distinct content types as markers, submitted multiple reports through TikTok's own reporting system, and received responses stating the flagged content violated neither platform rules nor UK law, where both real and AI-generated CSAM are illegal. After two weeks the algorithmic loop appeared to close, only to surface videos depicting real children rather than synthetic imagery, demonstrating the scale and persistence of the abuse network.

Platform-native anti-CSAM detection applied at the point of contact would disrupt this harm before coordination succeeds. Guardii, a Meta Business Partner and world-leading AI online-safety platform, deploys dedicated anti-CSAM and anti-grooming modules that detect the shape and seriousness of solicitation, trade coordination and coercive patterns in direct messages across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox and other platforms in real time. By flagging escalation and targeting behaviours rather than waiting for user reports or relying on post-hoc content review, the system intercepts offenders assembling networks, blocks hostile inbound contact before it reaches a child, and enables rapid referral to the appropriate authority when a trade attempt or grooming sequence is identified.