Dear Friend,

There is a deadly trade of steroids and steroid-like drugs happening on TikTok, right now. We need TikTok to take immediate action and stop this toxic trade.

Young men striving for an unattainable superhero physique are turning to drugs to help get the look. Bodybuilding influencers on TikTok glorify the look and lifestyle, and promote the sale of deadly bodybuilding drugs, putting the health and safety of young people at risk.

In one video the influencer put up a video showing vast quantities of anabolic-androgenic steroids, simply captioned “Risk it”. They know it’s dangerous.

Our researchers found:

These dangerous videos were seen a staggering 587 million times in the United States over the past three years.
Among these viewers, 72% were young people aged 18 to 24, with 420 million views on videos featuring hashtags glorifying steroid-like drugs.
SLD vendors collaborated with 35 paid influencers and could reach a staggering 1.8 million followers. These websites reach 540 times as many followers through TikTok influencers.

These steroid-like drugs (SLDs), including anabolic-androgenic steroids, peptides and SARMs, are illegal to sell for human consumption under US law. And their promotion on TikTok directly violates the platform's own community standards, which bans "the depiction, promotion, or trade of drugs or other controlled substances."

In recent years, dozens of sudden, early deaths in the bodybuilding community have raised alarm bells about the risks of SLD abuse. It's clear that TikTok's inaction is putting lives in jeopardy.

Friend, add your voice and call on TikTok to take immediate action against the promotion of dangerous drugs. You can make a difference and help protect young people from this toxic online trade.

Count me in >>

For many parents, TikTok is an enigma. Many parents don’t fully understand how the platform works or the dangers it holds. If TikTok remains unwilling or unable to keep Americans safe, it's time for Congress to step in and ensure these platforms are fully transparent and accountable when they put lives at risk.

CCDH Team

P.S - You can read more about the research on Twitter/X and NBC News' reporting here.