TikTok and Internet Crime Investigations

TikTok is a short-form video app popular with a wide audience, including many young people. Because of its scale, TikTok submits a large number of reports to NCMEC, as federal law requires, and TikTok accounts sometimes come up in investigations involving contact with minors. This page gives general background on TikTok and how investigations involving it often unfold.

Background and History of TikTok

TikTok was launched internationally in 2017 by the Chinese company ByteDance and merged with the app Musical.ly in 2018. A 2024 federal law required a change in ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations. In January 2026, a new TikTok USDS Joint Venture announced that it would operate TikTok in the United States. Ownership changes can affect which company holds U.S. user records and responds to legal process.

TikTok Features and Services

TikTok centers on the “For You” feed of recommended short videos. Users can post videos, go live, comment, use duets and stitches to respond to other videos, send gifts during livestreams, and exchange direct messages. TikTok restricts direct messaging for its youngest users and offers Family Pairing tools for parents.

How People Use TikTok

TikTok is used legitimately by more than 200 million Americans, according to the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, to watch, create, and share short videos. People use it for entertainment, and also to learn new skills, follow news, find recipes and travel ideas, and discover music. Creators have built careers on TikTok, and many small businesses use TikTok’s business tools to reach new customers. Educators, health professionals, nonprofits, and public agencies also use the platform to share information. For many people, TikTok is a creative and informative tool.

How Many People Use TikTok?

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture said in January 2026 that TikTok serves more than 200 million Americans. Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey found that 37% of U.S. adults say they ever use TikTok. TikTok’s current global user total has not been officially published in a form we could verify; third-party estimates vary.

How Investigations Involving TikTok Often Begin

Many investigations involving TikTok do not start with a police officer stumbling onto something. They start with a report. Online providers based in the United States are required by federal law to report apparent child sexual abuse material that they become aware of to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which runs the CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews each report, tries to work out where the user is located, and makes reports available to the appropriate law enforcement agency, often an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or a federal agency such as Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. For more on what happens after a report is made, see what a CyberTipline report is and what happens next.

NCMEC’s 2025 data lists 3,623,177 CyberTipline reports from TikTok, placing it among the top reporting services. A 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee release identified TikTok as one of eight companies that together made more than 17 million reports in 2025. Other investigations begin with reports from parents, schools, or the young users themselves.

What Records TikTok May Have and How Police Request Them

When investigators want records from TikTok, they generally have to use legal process. In broad terms, basic account and subscriber information is often requested with a subpoena, more detailed records with a court order, and the content of messages or files with a search warrant, although the exact rules depend on the type of data, the jurisdiction, and the circumstances. Investigators also commonly send a preservation request, which asks the company to hold onto existing records while the legal process is prepared. What a company actually has depends on its products, its retention practices, and the user’s own settings, and those practices change over time.

TikTok publishes law enforcement guidelines describing how it handles data requests. In general terms, TikTok may hold registration details, device and IP information, account activity logs, and the content of videos and direct messages, and it accepts preservation requests. Because of the ownership changes affecting U.S. operations, the entity that holds a particular user’s data and responds to process may depend on when and where the data was created.

Connecting a TikTok Account to a Person

A record showing that a TikTok account did something is not the same thing as proof that a particular person did it. Investigators typically try to connect an account to a person using things like the email address or phone number used to register, IP addresses from logins, subscriber records from an internet or wireless provider, device identifiers, payment records, and what is found on devices during a search. Each link in that chain can raise questions: shared homes and shared Wi-Fi, devices used by more than one person, VPNs, carrier networks that place many customers behind one IP address, compromised accounts, and gaps in the records. These are the kinds of issues a defense attorney may look at closely, case by case, under current law. The firm discusses this further in how police connect online accounts to a person.

Examples From Reported Cases

The examples below are drawn from public announcements and news reports. They are described generally and without names. Charges are only accusations, and anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. These summaries are not a prediction of how any other case will turn out.

• In Connecticut in 2025, a man was charged with child exploitation offenses after allegedly contacting a young child through a TikTok persona. Investigators said his phone contained Snapchat screenshots involving other minors. The charges are allegations.
• In Ohio, a man pleaded guilty in 2025 to federal charges after an investigation into alleged sextortion of girls through social media, including Instagram and TikTok, according to the Justice Department.

Related Articles on InternetCrime.com

• Platform Investigations: all platforms
• Social Media Crimes and Digital Evidence
• What Is a CyberTipline Report?
• Online Solicitation of a Minor
• Sextortion
• How Police Connect Online Accounts to a Person
• College Students and Internet Crime

If You Are Under Investigation Involving TikTok

If police have contacted you, if a search warrant has been served, or if you believe an investigation involving a TikTok account may be underway, it is important to get legal advice before taking any action on your own. Attorney Ron Frey generally advises speaking with an attorney before answering questions or agreeing to a search. Whether a person may be required to provide a password or unlock a device depends on the circumstances, the jurisdiction, and any search warrant or court order involved, so that decision should be made with an attorney’s advice (see should I provide my password to the police or FBI?).

You have the right to remain silent. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Laws change and vary from state to state and between state and federal court, and the way they apply depends on the specific facts. Please don’t rely on the internet or on AI tools to evaluate your situation. Every case is different, and contacting an attorney is a priority to get tailored advice.

Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC has been practicing law for over two decades and represents people nationally in internet and computer crime investigations and charges. He is a conference speaker and published author.

Attorney Ron Frey Is Available for a Free Initial Confidential Consultation: Call or Text (844) 766-3739. In Florida, call (813) 775-2276. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.

References

• TikTok Newsroom, “Announcement From the New TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC” (Jan. 2026)
• Pew Research Center, “Americans’ Social Media Use 2025” (Nov. 2025)
• NCMEC, “2025 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers (ESP)”
• U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, press release on CyberTipline reporting by technology companies (2026)
• TikTok, Law Enforcement Guidelines
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut, press release (2025)
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, press release (2025)
• TikTok for Business
• Wikipedia, “TikTok” (background)

Important: This page provides general information only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a complete or current statement of the law or of any company’s policies. Laws, court decisions, and platform practices change, and their effect depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. User figures and report counts come from the sources listed and may since have changed. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the services discussed; The Frey Law Firm, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. Please don’t rely on this page, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer. Reading this page or contacting The Frey Law Firm, LLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed: October 26, 2026.