TikTok, child safety, and the Digital Services Act: An empirical analysis of online harm mitigation

Abstract This paper examines recent developments in digital platform regulation, focusing on the European approach to mitigating systemic online risks affecting children. It presents an original empirical analysis of TikTok’s compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding content moderation aimed at protecting minors from harmful material. Drawing on data from the DSA Transparency Database, this study analyzes TikTok’s Statements of Reasons (SoRs) at four distinct time points from 2024 and 2025, encompassing a total of 11.6 million entries. SoRs detail actions taken to remove or restrict unsuitable content, offering insight into moderation decisions. Frequency, descriptive, and cross-tabulation analyses reveal that content flagged under “Protection of Minors” represents a significant portion of moderation activity, underscoring the prevalence of harmful content on TikTok. The findings assess TikTok’s risk policies and inform compliance with EU child protection rules while advancing communication and digital media scholarship on evolving moderation standards.