Three young children huddle in front of a camera, cross-legged and cupping their hands. “Please support me. We are very poor,” says a boy, staring down the lens.
They appear to be in a mud-brick hut in Afghanistan, living in extreme poverty. But their live stream is reaching viewers in the UK and worldwide – via TikTok Live.
For hours, they beg for virtual “gifts” that can later be exchanged for money. When they get one, they clap politely. On another live stream, a girl jumps up and shouts: “Thank you, we love you!” after receiving a digital rose from a woman in the US, who bought it from TikTok for about 1p. By the time it’s cashed out it could be worth less than a third of a penny.
TikTok says it bans child begging and other forms of begging it considers exploitative, and says it has strict policies on users who go live.
But an Observer investigation has found the practice widespread. Begging live streams are actively promoted by the algorithm and TikTok profits from the content, taking fees and commission of up to 70%.
Olivier de Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, called the trend a “shocking development” and accused TikTok and middlemen of “profiting from people’s misery”. “Taking a cut of people’s suffering is nothing short of digital predation. I urge TikTok to take immediate action and enforce its own policies on exploitative begging and seriously question the ‘commission’ it is taking from the world’s most vulnerable people,” he said.
Jeffrey DeMarco, digital harm expert at Save the Children, said: “The documented practices represent significant abuses and immediate action must be taken to ensure platforms no longer allow, or benefit directly or indirectly, from content such as this.”
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