The Spanish government has asked authorities to suspend TikTok’s operations in the country until the platform eliminates child sexual abuse material identified in an investigation that recorded more than 48 million views of explicit videos.
Youth Minister Sira Rego made the appeal to prosecutors and the country’s Data Protection Agency, seeking action against the social media company.
Rego’s ministry does not have the power to independently order a ban on TikTok.
“Social media cannot be lawless territory,” she said in a statement announcing the government’s position on Tuesday.
The request followed an investigation by Spanish fact-checking organisation Maldita.es, which identified 1,183 explicit posts on the platform.
The organisation reported on Monday that videos depicting child sexual abuse had attracted at least 48 million views, while more than 26,000 profiles had commented on and shared the material.
A follow-up report published on Tuesday evening said TikTok had restricted two search terms identified by the investigation as routes to the content for users in Spain.
However, searches using the same terms in other European countries continued to lead users to the material.
The latest action comes months after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government requested investigations into X, Meta and TikTok over allegations that the platforms were distributing artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material.
European regulators have intensified scrutiny of major technology companies over their handling of harmful and illegal content.
TikTok had not immediately responded to a request for comment from Reuters.
