TikTok's Toxic Trade

This CCDH report investigates the promotion of steroid-like drugs (SLDs) on TikTok, tracking 13 websites selling such substances and the influencer marketing networks that drive traffic to them. It found that TikTok videos promoting these products accumulated at least 587 million views in the United States over three years, with 420 million of those views coming from users aged 18 to 24, and that influencers linked to SLD-selling sites had a combined following of 1.8 million.

The report describes retailers offering bodybuilding influencers commissions of up to 30% while labeling products as "research chemicals not for human consumption" to sidestep regulation, with some videos advising younger viewers to describe the products to parents as vitamins. It notes that roughly two-thirds of American teenagers use TikTok, with a substantial share reporting near-constant use.

The report calls on TikTok to enforce its existing community guidelines against SLD promotion, urges updated federal regulation of social media marketing of these substances, and recommends the platform redirect advertising revenue from such content toward organizations addressing body image and substance-abuse issues among young men.