TIKTOK STAFF WARNED EXECUTIVES ABOUT CHILD SAFETY RISKS

TikTok staff repeatedly warned executives about risks to children on the platform, according to employee depositions filed in federal court in March 2026. Employees raised concerns about sexual exploitation, access to age-restricted material and exposure to suicide-related content. The depositions describe staff frustration with executives’ responses to those warnings. The accounts form part of litigation concerning the effects of social media platforms on children.

Reagen Maher, who held senior safety and investigations roles at TikTok between 2021 and 2024, said Maher alerted then-chief executive V Pappas to sexual content involving minors. Maher described minors stripping on TikTok Live in return for virtual “gifts” that users could convert into money. Maher called the material “transactional sexual content” and said TikTok knew about the exploitation concerns before they became public in 2022. In an internal chat, Maher wrote: “I have been fighting about fixing this for months with people who didn’t think the harms are severe enough.” Maher added: “Put simply, senior leaders know about this issue.”

The depositions relate to litigation that began in 2022 and brings together hundreds of lawsuits. The claims target TikTok, Meta, Snap and Google. Plaintiffs allege that the companies knew their platforms harmed children and failed to disclose those risks. Employees also raised concerns that TikTok could benefit financially from Live content involving minors.