Spain Refers TikTok Abuse Findings to Prosecutors

Spain’s Ministry of Youth and Children referred an investigation into child sexual abuse material on TikTok to prosecutors on November 9 and raised the possibility of suspending the platform’s services in Spain. The referral is a request for action, not a ban, and TikTok remained available in the country as of November 11.

The ministry’s letter asked the State Prosecutors Office to act on findings from Maldita.es, a Spanish nonprofit that investigates online content. Minister Sira Rego also requested an urgent meeting with TikTok representatives in Spain to seek explanations and information about measures taken and planned. The ministry said the findings pointed to serious shortcomings in content detection and moderation and in TikTok’s recommendation systems. Those are the ministry’s assessments, not a legal determination.

Maldita.es said it reviewed material collected from September 11 to October 15 and identified 1,183 explicit posts linked to 231 profiles, which had received 48 million views. The nonprofit said 136 of the profiles were still active on October 15. These figures come from its investigation and have not been independently verified in the reports.