Poverty goes live: How TikTok profits from child begging

Many of these live sessions involve families or vulnerable individuals broadcasting from their homes, asking for help. (Representative Image)

On a tiny screen, children from some of the world’s poorest regions sit cross-legged, hands cupped, quietly pleading for help, not in the streets, but on TikTok Live. From mud-brick homes in Afghanistan to crowded urban areas in Pakistan and Indonesia, young faces appear daily on the platform, asking strangers for virtual gifts that translate to real money, but often just pennies.

While some viewers may see these streams as heart-wrenching appeals for support, what’s unfolding behind the scenes is far more troubling. Children and vulnerable people are being pushed into live digital begging, with TikTok pocketing a large share of the earnings while their poverty becomes entertainment.

According to The Guardian’s Observer investigation, this exploitative trend has spread rapidly across TikTok Live, encouraged by algorithms and enabled by weak content moderation, despite company policies that prohibit child begging.

Many of these live sessions involve families or vulnerable individuals broadcasting from their homes, asking for help. But others appear more organized. In some cases, different children show up in the same setting each day, raising concerns about a possible network exploiting them for money.

UN special rapporteur Olivier de Schutter called it a “shocking development” and “digital predation,” accusing TikTok and third-party facilitators of profiting from human suffering. Similarly, Save the Children’s Jeffrey DeMarco said these streams were abusive and demanded urgent action to stop them.

The Observer found that despite TikTok's ban on exploitative begging, including involving children, the platform’s enforcement has been spotty. Some flagged accounts were only removed after media intervention, while others remained active despite prior in-app reports.

TikTok Live, launched in 2020, allows creators to broadcast in real-time and receive digital gifts from viewers. The platform claims to have safety measures, such as requiring hosts to be over 18 and have at least 1,000 followers, but children often appear in streams with adults, or are coached by unseen handlers.

The Observer investigation uncovered cases where people performed degrading stunts, like covering themselves in mud or staying awake for hours, for gifts. In one stream, men wore party hats in the dark, only waking up to dance when someone donated. These streams, incentivized by the app’s design, often go viral, generating more revenue for both creators and TikTok.

As per The Guardian’s report, TikTok admitted that about 30% of gift revenue goes toward app store fees and processing costs, but the company can end up taking nearly 70% of the total value through various cuts.

Some creators argue that TikTok Live has helped them during times of need. There have been heartwarming stories, like a family raising money for surgery, or villagers in Indonesia sharing earnings from quirky dance routines. But for every success, there’s a concern: Are participants truly benefiting, or are they being exploited?

Experts warn that in many cases, third parties control access to earnings, and those appearing in the videos might be coerced or too young to consent. TikTok claims it requires ID verification for earners, but many accounts remain anonymous, leaving viewers in the dark about where the money actually goes.

The Observer highlighted that although TikTok has made public promises to address such issues, past investigations, including those by the BBC and Al Jazeera, have shown similar patterns of exploitative livestreaming in refugee camps and orphanages.