TikTok, Snapchat, Grok Among 12 Targeted in Report on Sexual Exploitation Risks

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Popular apps and platforms used by millions of children and teens are listed as “contributors to sexual exploitation” by a watchdog group in its annual “Dirty Dozen” report of companies that have failed to safeguard young users.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) released its 2026 Dirty Dozen List last week, naming apps such as Snapchat and TikTok, the AI chatbot Grok, and devices such as Google Chromebooks, alongside the Apple App Store, Amazon, and Android as “mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation.” The list also includes a high-profile executive: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.

“Mark Zuckerberg is a major contributor to sexual exploitation online, through his leadership at Meta. That’s why he is named personally to the Dirty Dozen List,” said Haley McNamara, executive director and chief strategy officer at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. “Under his leadership, Meta has consistently prioritized growth and profit over the safety of children. Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp have become breeding grounds for child sexual abuse, grooming, sextortion, and sex trafficking. Responsibility lands on his desk.”

The report said Snapchat “remains a prime tool for sextortionists, sex traffickers, and child abusers to accomplish their crimes” – and that internal documents and whistleblower accounts “suggest that Snapchat has consistently deprioritized user safety in favor of growth and engagement metrics.”

TikTok has “created an environment where predators thrive, using livestreams, comments, and private messages to groom and exploit minors,” while Grok “builds chatbots to normalize rape, sexual violence, and prostitution/sex trafficking, and image generators to create sexual imagery,” the report said.

“Marketed as a cutting-edge conversational tool, Grok’s ‘Companion’ AI chatbots have devolved into sexualized avatars that cater to explicit fantasies, including disturbing themes of rape, sexual violence, prostitution/sex trafficking, and more,” the report said. “These avatars, like ‘Ani’ and ‘Valentine,’ are intentionally programmed to engage in sexually explicit conversations, normalizing harmful behaviors and fostering a culture of sexual entitlement.”

The Dirty Dozen List criticized Chromebooks as being “riddled with serious flaws that jeopardize the safety and well-being of K–12 students” – despite their popularity and market dominance within schools.

“At the heart of the issue is the Google Chromebook default settings, which have been reported to recklessly granting students essentially open access to almost the entire internet, exposing them to harmful content like pornography, violence, sextortion, and cyberbullying,” the report said. “And some have claimed that Google’s search algorithms, designed to prioritize maximally ‘engaging’ content, actively push dangerous material to minors, amplifying the risks.”

The Dirty Dozen List dinged Android for failing to protect children.

“An Android device used by a minor looks and behaves like a regular adult device, with no automatic content filters, app-rating restrictions, or communication protections on at setup,” the report said.

The Apple App Store “lulls parents with ‘kid-safe’ labels while exposing children to hidden online dangers.”

“Deepfake ‘nudify’ tools, stranger connection apps for 13-year-olds, and sex games for preschoolers have all waltzed past Apple’s supposed safeguards – showing just how easily its review system can be gamed,” the report said.

Amazon landed on the list for selling child-like sex dolls. Others on the list included Discord, Steam, Telegram, and X/Twitter.

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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

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