According to the BBC, TikTok is making money off of sexual livestreams made by teenagers as young as 15.
According to three Kenyan women we spoke with, they started doing this when they were teenagers. They admitted to using TikTok to publicly promote and bargain for money for additional graphic material that would be distributed through other chat apps.
Moderators told the BBC that although TikTok prohibits solicitation, the firm is aware that it occurs. We previously discovered that TikTok keeps over 70% of all streaming transactions.
“Zero tolerance for exploitation” is what TikTok informed the BBC.
TikTok is a popular platform for Kenyan livestreams; within a week, we discovered up to a dozen where hundreds of people worldwide saw women dance provocatively.
Note: contains explicit sexual content.
The TikTok Lives are in full swing at two in the morning in Nairobi.
While a woman turns on her camera to twerk or pose provocatively, music blares and users converse over one another. Then, emoji “gifts” cover the screen.
“Kinembe folks, send me an email. The performers repeat, “Tap, tap.” TikTok users frequently use the term “Tap, tap,” which requests that viewers “like” a livestream.
“Kinembe” means “clitoris” in Swahili. “Inbox me” directs the user to submit a TikTok private message with a more specific, customized request, like watching the performer strip, masturbate, or engage in sexual activity with other women.
Some of the livestreams we viewed advertised sexual services using coded sexual terminology.
Since TikTok filters out any overt sexual behavior and nudity, the emoji presents serve as payment for the livestreams on the platform. Additionally, the more explicit content provided later on other platforms
A Kenyan former moderator we’re calling Jo says, “It’s not in TikTok’s interest to clamp down on soliciting of sex – the more people give gifts on a livestream… [the] more revenue for TikTok,” adding that the platform employs over 40,000 moderators worldwide.
We found that TikTok continues to keep roughly 70% of streaming presents. After we established the same cut in a 2022 investigation, the corporation denied taking such a big commission.
According to a lawsuit filed by the US state of Utah last year, TikTok “profited significantly” from its livestreams, hence it neglected the issue despite having long been aware of child exploitation in them (having conducted its own internal inquiry in 2022).
In response, TikTok said the case, which is still pending, disregarded the “proactive measures” it has taken to increase security.
According to the charity ChildFund Kenya, Kenya is a hotbed for this abuse, which is made worse by the country’s youthful population and extensive internet use. In comparison to Western nations, the organization also noted that online moderation is lacking throughout the African continent.
According to Jo, who was employed by Teleperformance, which TikTok hired to handle content moderation, moderators are provided with a reference manual listing prohibited sexual terms and behaviors. However, Jo claims that this approach is constrictive and ignores slang and other offensive gestures.
The content moderators in Kenya informed us that although TikTok is eager to enter African markets, it does not have enough employees to adequately filter content.
In 2023, President William Ruto met with Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, to advocate for improved content control on the platform, demonstrating the government of Kenya’s recognition of the problem. With a TikTok office in Kenya to assist with coordination, the government said the business had consented to stricter regulations.
However, after more than 18 months, neither had occurred, according to the moderators we spoke with.
