Spain's prosecutors file complaint against TikTok over child abuse videos

The complaint

Spain's Attorney General's Office filed a complaint on Friday, 13 November 2026, against TikTok Technologies Spain SL before the Plaza de Guardia of the Court of First Instance in Madrid. The filing concerns possible crimes linked to the spread of child sexual abuse material on the platform. It was lodged by Elvira Tejada de la Fuente, the prosecutor who leads the Sala de Criminalidad Informática, the office's unit for computer crime. Prosecutors ask the court to open a judicial investigation, declare the proceedings secret and carry out the inquiries needed to establish what happened and who may be responsible. They also request the urgent and immediate removal of the reported content.

How the case reached prosecutors

The case began with an investigation published by the outlet Maldita.es on Monday, 9 November 2026. The outlet said it had identified more than 1,000 TikTok videos showing explicit child sexual abuse material. On 11 November, Attorney General Teresa Peramato Martín assigned the investigation of the reported offences to Tejada. The complainants later appeared before her to ratify their complaint and hand over the evidence they had gathered. After carrying out checks, her office filed the complaint with the court on Friday.

What the sample showed

Maldita.es reported 50 videos as illegal content, and those videos had gathered 8.8 million views and more than 148,000 likes. According to the outlet, TikTok removed only five of them, or 10%, and blocked 13 more, or 26%, in Spain alone. The platform gave no response in 6% of cases and, in 58% of cases, considered that the videos did not breach the law. These figures cover the 50-video sample only, not the full set of more than 1,000 videos the outlet says it identified.

Removed10%

Blocked in Spain26%

No response6%

Considered not infringing58%

Removed

10 %

Blocked in Spain

26 %

No response

6 %

Considered not infringing

58 %

Data from the article text

Further allegations and next steps

The complaint also states that TikTok's recommendation system suggested content of the same nature, both within the app and on other platforms. The complainants further reported live broadcasts involving minors in which economic compensation was allegedly paid. The prosecution says the judicial investigation must determine whether those practices are criminal. The request does not yet reflect any judicial decision, so whether the Madrid court opens proceedings, declares them secret and orders the removal of the material remains open.