TikTok cashes in as gangs post videos of dangerous crossings
The smugglers offered a 'subscription' service. They paid £5.39 a month through TikTok, which takes a cut of up to 50 per cent.
Migrants subscribed to live video calls with the smuggler. One account had 3,550 followers and another 22,300, so traffickers could be earning thousands of pounds.
The subscription service is a widely used feature for TikTok which makes clear on its website that after app store fees, 'TikTok splits the revenue up to 50/50 with you'.The Mail on Sunday contacted two subscription service users who promoted a new life in Britain on their profile.
One revealed dates of crossings. A clip showed a Border Force vessel beside a small boat heading to Britain.
One person replied: 'I spent eight hours in the sea, it was really hard. Thank goodness we all arrived.'
We asked if the user could get us to Britain and received a love heart emoji in reply.
Another user replied with a thumbs-up emoji when asked if he could arrange a crossing on a boat to Britain
Another user replied with a thumbs-up emoji when asked if he could arrange a crossing on a boat to Britain. Videos posted on his TikTok profile showed him in migrant camps in northern France.
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: 'This is a scandal. TikTok tells us it is doing all it can to stop these videos but now we learn they are profiting from them.'
TikTok confirmed that both accounts had now been closed.
A spokesman said: 'We have zero tolerance for content that promotes human smuggling and will remove accounts that break our rules.
'We work closely with the UK National Crime Agency to help to identify and to combat organised immigration crime online and we respond to evolving threats.'
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