Spain calls for TikTok’s suspension after more than 1,000 posts containing child sexual abuse material were identified

Authorities in Spain have called for the temporary suspension of the TikTok platform after an investigation identified material containing child sexual abuse. The request was submitted on Tuesday to the Spanish Data Protection Agency, the institution empowered to order such a measure.

Minister for Youth and Children Sira Rego said the government had asked TikTok to voluntarily suspend its services, but the company has so far presented no concrete technical solutions. “If it were up to us, it would have been suspended yesterday,” the minister said, stressing that the measure would be exceptional and that it does not fall directly within the government’s remit.

The request follows a 35-day investigation conducted by the organization Maldita.es and published on Monday. The research documented 1,182 public posts containing such material, with more than 48 million views. It also identified more than 200 accounts distributing similar content, as well as 91 cases in which minors streamed live, violating the platform’s rules.

Under European data protection rules, the Spanish authority can impose temporary measures lasting up to three months if it considers urgent intervention necessary to protect people’s rights and freedoms. TikTok has only committed to analyzing the situation, without undertaking an audit or introducing new verification mechanisms.