TikTok Accused of Funneling Teenagers Into Adult Industry

Campaigning groups in Britain and Australia have accused TikTok of serving as a primary gateway for young women entering the adult content industry. The report, titled “TikTok to OnlyFans pipeline,” details how creators embed subtle references to sexual services within standard lifestyle content. This strategy allows performers to market adult material to teenage audiences while adhering to platform guidelines that ban direct links.

Researchers from the UK's Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation and Australia's Collective Shout spent months analyzing non-explicit posts over a one-year period. They tracked how TikTok’s algorithm recommended specific creators to younger users. The study identified patterns where performers mixed shopping, baking, and pet videos with coded signals. Euphemisms such as the word “corn” and specific emoji combinations were used to indicate that explicit content was available on other platforms.

The report highlights a disconnect between the wealth portrayed in these videos and the actual earnings of most creators. Performers frequently featured large homes, private aircraft, and expensive cars to suggest financial independence. However, the study notes that the average registered performer earns only about $1,000 a year. In contrast, OnlyFans data shows that the top 5,000 creators have each earned more than $1 million since the platform launched in 2016. Melinda Tankard Reist of Collective Shout stated that the goal is to protect young women from an industry that encourages them to produce explicit material.

The research also examined how commercial advertising blends with these lifestyle posts. Brands ranging from pet food to condoms appear in the same feeds as sexual content promotions. In 2025, L’Oréal appointed OnlyFans creator Ari Kytsya as an ambassador for its Urban Decay makeup brand. Her ads, which reference performance on mattresses, have been viewed millions of times on TikTok. Kytsya and another prominent creator, Sophie Rain, attracted large teenage audiences that prompted the organizations to launch the study. Rain gained visibility through videos filmed at the Bop House in Miami, where recruitment auditions are shared on TikTok.

TikTok maintains that its systems are designed to keep age-inappropriate material from teenagers. The company said it prohibits sharing or displaying sexual content and uses advanced technology to enforce these rules. OnlyFans stated that its service is restricted to adults aged 18 and over. The organization added that strict onboarding procedures prevent minors from accessing the platform. The authors of the report want restrictions currently applied to explicit pornography extended to posts that promote the sex industry.