Tiktok pledges three-stage age checks as it pilots alcohol sales
Tiktok will strictly enforce age checks to block under-18s from buying or even viewing alcohol on Tiktok Shop, City PM understands, as it expands into one of retail’s most tightly regulated categories.
The social media giant said its ecommerce platform is strictly for adults and that alcohol sales are being piloted only with a small group of approved, licensed retailers after The Times reported the company had begun selling drinks including Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, AU Vodka and Estrella Damm’s Inedit beer.
Users under 18 cannot access Tiktok Shop or see ecommerce content on their ‘for you’ feed.
Alcohol products can only be discovered by searching the shop tab, while customers must pass age checks when creating an account, again at checkout and finally on delivery, it has been understood, where drivers are required to verify government-issued ID before handing over an order.
The company added that users can also choose not to see alcohol-related advertising on their ‘for you’ feed.
Just a week ago, Ofcom opened an investigation into whether the platform’s age assurance systems comply with the Online Safety Act, after questioning whether its “age inference” technology is effective enough to identify child users.
The probe follows the government’s plans to ban under-16s from accessing Tiktok and other major social media platforms from next year.
Tiktok has previously said it is confident it complies with the Online Safety Act and will work with Ofcom during the investigation.
Tiktok shop broadens retail ambitions
The alcohol pilot marks another step in the app’s transformation from a video-sharing app into one of Britain’s fastest-growing shopping platforms.
The company has spent the past few years building Tiktok Shop into a major retail marketplace, with brands ranging from Marks & Spencer to John Lewis now selling products through the platform.
Speaking to City PM in June, Tiktok UK head of sales Kris Boger said the company’s ad business was growing 40 per cent year on year as brands shifted spending towards shopping and creator-led campaigns.
“We’ve really shifted towards being a full-funnel marketing platform,” he said.
Tiktok says search activity has risen 47 per cent over the past year, with users increasingly using the app to discover products rather than simply consume videos.
During last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, shop sales jumped 50 per cent year on year, with 27 products sold every second.
“Brands are under incredible commercial pressures,” Boger said. “We have to deliver results.”
The move into alcohol opens another lucrative consumer category for Tiktok Shop, although the pilot remains limited to licensed sellers.
Safety questions rise
The rollout is likely to intensify scrutiny of Tiktok’s age verification systems.
Ofcom has said it has “very serious questions” about whether behavioural age estimation can be sufficiently accurate to meet the legal standard required under the Online Safety Act, with the regulator examining whether Tiktok’s safeguards are “highly effective” at preventing children from accessing harmful or age-restricted content.
Tiktok rejected those concerns, saying it “strictly” enforces age-appropriate experiences using platform rules and age assurance technology and has invested billions in online safety since launching in the UK eight years ago.
The company has also sought to reassure ministers over wider child safety reforms.
Following the government’s proposed under-16 social media ban, Boger told City PM Tiktok would comply with any legislation passed by Parliament but argued restrictions should apply consistently across the industry.
“We feel that any restrictions should be applied consistently across all companies so that younger users are not pushed to less-regulated parts of the internet”, he said.