Americans, and particularly American women, are caught between two powerful forces: a broken U.S. health care system that makes essential medical care and medications difficult to access, and a culture that relentlessly tells women that their health and value are tied to the size of their bodies.
Millions of women live with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity, PCOS, and more, but are uninsured, underinsured, denied coverage, stigmatized, or shut down for the medical care and medications they desperately need. Even when treatments are available, they can be too expensive or too difficult to access due to high prices set by pharmaceutical companies and insurance gaps.
At the same time, women are also bombarded with messages that the size of their bodies determines their health and worth. These messages are especially prevalent on social media platforms like TikTok, where women are flooded with posts and advertisements telling them that thinness equals beauty, health, happiness, and success.
Our research found that these two powerful forces — a broken U.S. health care system and a culture that relentlessly ties women’s health and value to the size of their bodies — fuel a gray market of products marketed as GLP-1 drugs on TikTok that goes largely unchecked, potentially putting millions of users at risk.
The five questions below highlight our investigation’s most significant findings, answering how TikTok’s GLP-1 gray market operates, who it targets, and the risks it poses.
Ultraviolet’s report, Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, found that gray market GLP-1 sellers are remarkably easy to find on TikTok.
The gray market refers to the sale of products through unauthorized or unregulated channels outside traditional healthcare and pharmacy systems. Ultraviolet’s research found that accounts offering gray market GLP-1 drugs on TikTok are widespread and easy to find, despite the potential illegality of these sales and their apparent violation of TikTok’s own Community Guidelines.
The research also found that TikTok’s recommendation features simplify finding these accounts through the platform’s Discover and Hashtag pages.
Ultraviolet’s report, Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, found that TikTok repeatedly failed to effectively and transparently enforce its own Community Guidelines when it came to gray market GLP-1 content.
According to Ultraviolet’s research, of the 202 accounts reported for appearing to clearly violate TikTok’s Community Guidelines, TikTok removed only 34%.
TikTok’s content moderation was inconsistent and appeared random. Accounts that looked nearly identical received different treatment, with some removed while others remained active. According to Ultraviolet’s findings, reporting gray market or suspicious GLP-1 seller accounts to TikTok does not play a meaningful role in the platform’s moderation decisions.
Ultraviolet’s report, Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, found that TikTok’s January 2026 ownership change did not improve moderation of gray market GLP-1 content.
The research shows that problematic gray market content and accounts offering gray market GLP-1 drugs remained easy to find during both Phase 1 and Phase 2, indicating that the ownership transfer did not have a meaningful impact on moderation.
In September 2025, TikTok also loosened its Terms of Use related to gray market drug policies. Ultraviolet’s research shows that TikTok’s policies weakened over the course of the research and remained weakened following the ownership change.
Ultraviolet’s report, Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, found that TikTok’s GLP-1 gray market disproportionately targets women.
Sixty-five percent of the 202 accounts reported as part of Ultraviolet’s investigation used a woman’s profile picture, some of which appeared to be AI-generated.
UltraViolet’s investigation also found that much of the gray market GLP-1 content used sexualized imagery and gendered messaging to promote weight-loss drugs, suggesting that women are disproportionately targeted by sellers operating in TikTok’s gray market.
Ultraviolet’s report, Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, found that TikTok does not effectively stop gray market GLP-1 accounts from redirecting buyers to off-platform channels like WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, and Linktree.
The research found that accounts routinely directed users away from TikTok to external messaging apps and link-sharing services to continue conversations and facilitate sales, and that this practice went largely unchecked throughout the investigation.
During Phase 1 and Phase 2 of UltraViolet’s research, 94% and 79% of flagged accounts, respectively, included WhatsApp contact information in their bios despite apparent violations of TikTok’s own Community Guidelines.
UltraViolet’s investigation also documented sellers redirecting potential buyers to Discord, Telegram, and Linktree, suggesting that multiple platforms are being used as infrastructure for the gray market sale of products marketed as GLP-1 drugs.
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Download the full Unregulated, Unmoderated, and Unsafe: The GLP-1 Gray Market on TikTok, report, including our methodology, findings, and recommendations. Download the Full Report (PDF) |
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TikTok is allowing a dangerous gray market for unregulated GLP-1 drugs to flourish on its platform, making it easy for users to find content that appears to violate its own Community Guidelines. These illicit products can lead to serious health risks, including hospitalizations and dosing errors.
Demand that TikTok shut down the GLP-1 gray market and put user safety before profits.
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