Safety Centre

Human exploitation support

Updated: June 3, 2025

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Our commitment to safety

At TikTok, our goal is to create a safe and welcoming community. In our commitment to protect our community from human trafficking and human smuggling, our specialised teams:

Proactively detect and remove exploitative content.
Ban accounts promoting, facilitating or coordinating human exploitation.
Report incidents of child sex trafficking to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Alert law enforcement about specific, credible and imminent threats to human life or serious physical injury.
Partner with expert organisations worldwide to provide resources for our users.

For more information, please refer to our Community Guidelines.

What is human exploitation?

Human exploitation refers to the abuse, manipulation or coercion of individuals for financial or personal gain. This includes human trafficking and human smuggling:

Human smuggling is a criminal enterprise where smugglers facilitate illegal and often dangerous journeys across international borders, exploiting vulnerable individuals in desperate circumstances. These operations are frequently carried out by well-organised, multinational networks.

Human smuggling is marked by violence, abuse and exploitation. Many survivors face life-threatening risks, including death.

Smugglers target migrants seeking to escape poverty, natural disasters, conflict, persecution or lack of economic opportunities, in order to prey on their inability to access safe and legal migration pathways.

Learn more about human smuggling.

Human trafficking is a crime that includes acts of recruitment, transportation, holding on to or receiving persons against their will.

Trafficking can take place in a person's home country, during migration or in a foreign country.

Traffickers use tactics such as removal of official documents, blackmail and emotional manipulation for the purposes of abduction, forced labour, physical and sexual abuse, practices similar to slavery and/or the removal of organs.

Learn more about human trafficking.

How can I identify content that may involve human exploitation?

Remember, when we prevent harm online, we can also prevent harm in real life. Here are some common signals that may help you identify content that could involve human exploitation:

Be aware of violative content directly involving:

Coordination of human smuggling activities
Illegal border crossing services
Sexual services, forced marriages
Organ trafficking
Child exploitation
Forced labour recruitment
False documentation services

Be aware of the warning signs of violative content targeting the vulnerable:

Job offers that seem too good to be true
Requests to move conversations off TikTok
Promises of easy migration or travel
Suspicious modelling, entertainment services or hospitality opportunities abroad
Offers to arrange marriages for visas
"Success stories" of illegal border crossings

Be aware of the warning signs of high-risk situations:

Pressure to make quick decisions
Requests for identity documents (e.g. passports, national ID cards, work permits, visa, etc.)
Promises to work off travel debts
Recruitment for overseas jobs
Marriage arrangement services
Private travel assistance offers, including promises for safe border crossings

Criminal networks exploit individuals fleeing violence, persecution, natural disasters and extreme poverty, preying on their desperation to escape hardship and find safety. These networks profit from human smuggling, exposing migrants to dangerous travel conditions and putting them at risk of human trafficking, where they may face blackmail, debt bondage and violence. It is vital to recognise these risks and empower our community with accurate information to prevent exploitation and harm.

To support survivors, we allow content on TikTok where:

Survivors share their experience of trafficking or smuggling, in a respectful, non-promotional and non-exploitative way, to raise awareness, while also expressing support for others affected by these experiences, fostering solidarity and empathy within the community.
Informational content educates viewers about the risks of trafficking and smuggling and provides guidance on how to avoid harm.
Content focuses on laws, policies and advocacy efforts aimed at preventing trafficking and smuggling and supporting victims.
Content discusses available resources for survivors, such as shelters, legal aid and counselling services.

To prevent harm, we remove material on TikTok that:

Facilitates, coordinates or recruits for human trafficking.
Facilitates, coordinates or solicits human smuggling services.
Recruits participants to engage in human smuggling operations.
Promotes or glorifies human trafficking or smuggling.
Contributes to re-victimisation or exploitation, such as sharing a trafficking survivor's identity without consent or disclosing detailed smuggling routes or services.

What do I do if I come across content that promotes, facilitates or coordinates human trafficking and smuggling?

Your reports are invaluable in keeping TikTok safe. If you suspect content is promoting, facilitating or coordinating human trafficking or smuggling, we urge you to report it through our in-app reporting system. TikTok will not disclose your account or identity to the person whose content or account you're reporting. By reporting this content, those affected can be connected to dedicated professionals and organisations that are ready to support their safety and recovery.

Please keep in mind that, in order to prevent revictimisation and risking unintended harm, DO NOT comment, share, download or interact with the content, even if you decide to report it.

In-app reporting

To report a post:

1. In the TikTok app, press and hold the post you want to report.

2. Tap Report.

3. Tap Violence, abuse and criminal exploitation, then select Human exploitation.

4. Tap Submit at the bottom.

To report a profile:

1. In the TikTok app, go to the profile of the account you want to report.

2. Tap the arrow at the top, then tap Report.

3. Tap Report account, then select Posting Inappropriate Content.

4. Tap Violence, abuse and criminal exploitation, then select Human exploitation.

5. Tap Submit at the bottom.

How to get professional support for survivors of human exploitation

It's important to remember that human exploitation can result in serious violations of the law and human rights. If you or someone you know has experienced human smuggling or human trafficking, and is in need of help, remember that you're not alone, and help is within reach. Survivors deserve compassion, respect and tailored support and seeking help, for yourself or others, is a courageous step towards safety and healing.

If you feel comfortable doing so, you can also report concerns to the following organisations that collaborate with regional partners globally and are dedicated to preventing and responding to human exploitation. Your safety remains our top priority, and we value your vigilance in addressing these critical issues.

For survivors of sexual abuse, additional information and resources are available on our Sexual abuse support page, offering compassionate, survivor-centred guidance.

Disclaimer

The content provided on this page is for informational purposes and educational use only. Seek immediate professional medical support or emergency assistance if you, or any other person, are in a crisis, danger or experiencing a medical or mental health emergency. No external organisations listed as resources were directly consulted in the development of this page.