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In exchange for receiving virtual gifts on TikTok Live, many people—including children—are risking their dignity and safety to perform attention-seeking acts.
“Please support us. We are very poor,” plead three children, reportedly streaming from a hut in Afghanistan. Standing in front of a camera with hands clasped, they broadcast for hours, asking global viewers for virtual gifts that can be converted into money.
In another livestream, a girl dances and occasionally screams when someone sends a gift. A typical gift might be a virtual rose worth one penny (USD 0.01), but the streamer only receives about half of that value.
Beyond simple begging, many livestreams include degrading or dangerous behavior—such as self-harm, extreme stunts, staying awake for days, or covering themselves in mud.
TikTok claims to ban begging by minors and similar exploitative acts, labeling them as a form of abuse. The ByteDance-owned platform also says it enforces strict guidelines for livestreaming users.
However, according to The Observer, online begging remains widespread on TikTok and is often promoted by the platform’s algorithm. Streamers do not keep the full value of the gifts they receive—TikTok takes a cut, typically around 50%, and sometimes up to 70%.
TikTok does not deny this, explaining that 30% of gift revenue goes to “app store fees and payment provider charges.” The platform offers about 100 different virtual gifts, ranging from a 1-penny rose to items worth 44,999 pennies (USD 578).
Olivier de Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, called the trend “deeply shocking,” accusing TikTok of “profiting off people’s suffering.”
“Taking a cut of money earned through someone else’s hardship is no different from predatory behavior in the digital space,” Schutter told The Guardian. “I urge TikTok to enforce its own rules on begging and to seriously reconsider the commissions it takes from some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Jeffrey DeMarco, a digital harm expert at Save the Children, also criticized TikTok’s approach, saying the platform is “exploiting” users. He urged regulators to “take immediate action to ensure platforms can no longer allow or profit—directly or indirectly—from such practices.”
An Observer analysis from January to April found that online begging and similar content were most prevalent in Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, and Kenya. While many livestreams appear to be filmed in users’ homes, some showed signs of being part of organized begging operations.
TikTok Live, launched in August 2020, allows creators to broadcast in real time. According to the platform, over 100 million people went live in 2024, reaching “billions of users” over time.
A TikTok spokesperson said the platform shuts down more than 4 million livestreams per month “to keep the platform safe.” TikTok requires livestreamers to be at least 18 years old and have over 1,000 followers. Children may appear only if accompanied by an adult.
In some rare cases, TikTok livestreams have had positive outcomes. For example, a family in the Philippines successfully raised funds for surgery to separate conjoined twins. Charities have also found TikTok to be a useful tool for reaching people in need.
However, Catherine Turner from Anti-Slavery International warned that, in many cases, the money raised through such streams may never reach the children or impoverished individuals featured. Instead, it could end up in the hands of those exploiting them behind the scenes.
“Please support us. We are very poor,” plead three children, reportedly streaming from a hut in Afghanistan. Standing in front of a camera with hands clasped, they broadcast for hours, asking global viewers for virtual gifts that can be converted into money.
In another livestream, a girl dances and occasionally screams when someone sends a gift. A typical gift might be a virtual rose worth one penny (USD 0.01), but the streamer only receives about half of that value.
Beyond simple begging, many livestreams include degrading or dangerous behavior—such as self-harm, extreme stunts, staying awake for days, or covering themselves in mud.
TikTok claims to ban begging by minors and similar exploitative acts, labeling them as a form of abuse. The ByteDance-owned platform also says it enforces strict guidelines for livestreaming users.
However, according to The Observer, online begging remains widespread on TikTok and is often promoted by the platform’s algorithm. Streamers do not keep the full value of the gifts they receive—TikTok takes a cut, typically around 50%, and sometimes up to 70%.
TikTok does not deny this, explaining that 30% of gift revenue goes to “app store fees and payment provider charges.” The platform offers about 100 different virtual gifts, ranging from a 1-penny rose to items worth 44,999 pennies (USD 578).
Olivier de Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, called the trend “deeply shocking,” accusing TikTok of “profiting off people’s suffering.”
“Taking a cut of money earned through someone else’s hardship is no different from predatory behavior in the digital space,” Schutter told The Guardian. “I urge TikTok to enforce its own rules on begging and to seriously reconsider the commissions it takes from some of the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Jeffrey DeMarco, a digital harm expert at Save the Children, also criticized TikTok’s approach, saying the platform is “exploiting” users. He urged regulators to “take immediate action to ensure platforms can no longer allow or profit—directly or indirectly—from such practices.”
An Observer analysis from January to April found that online begging and similar content were most prevalent in Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, and Kenya. While many livestreams appear to be filmed in users’ homes, some showed signs of being part of organized begging operations.
TikTok Live, launched in August 2020, allows creators to broadcast in real time. According to the platform, over 100 million people went live in 2024, reaching “billions of users” over time.
A TikTok spokesperson said the platform shuts down more than 4 million livestreams per month “to keep the platform safe.” TikTok requires livestreamers to be at least 18 years old and have over 1,000 followers. Children may appear only if accompanied by an adult.
In some rare cases, TikTok livestreams have had positive outcomes. For example, a family in the Philippines successfully raised funds for surgery to separate conjoined twins. Charities have also found TikTok to be a useful tool for reaching people in need.
However, Catherine Turner from Anti-Slavery International warned that, in many cases, the money raised through such streams may never reach the children or impoverished individuals featured. Instead, it could end up in the hands of those exploiting them behind the scenes.
Source: The Guardian, The Observer
