TikTok self-harm study results ‘every parent’s nightmare’

The researchers set up accounts in the US, UK, Canada and Australia registered with ages of 13. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

TikTok’s recommendation algorithm pushes self-harm and eating disorder content to teenagers within minutes of them expressing interest in the topics, research suggests.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that the video-sharing site will promote content including dangerously restrictive diets, pro-self-harm content and content romanticising suicide to users who show a preference for the material, even if they are registered as under-18s.