UPDATE: (10/29/24): All of the products referenced within this piece appear to have been removed from TikTok Shop since publication of this article.
TikTok’s race to become an Amazon competitor has created a dangerous, insufficiently regulated marketplace filled with black market pharmaceuticals and cosmetic injections. TikTok is facilitating and apparently profiting from the sale of these illicit injectables.
Every item discussed in this report seemingly violates TikTok Shop’s own prohibited products policy, putting into question the company’s product approval process. The policies prohibit sales of medicines, supplements, products obtained through illegal means, counterfeit products, products “that are intended for use by medical professionals or under medical supervision,” and “products and supplements that claim to aid in weight management, fat reduction, or similar goals.”
TikTok Shop merchants are selling bootleg weight loss and performance enhancement drugs
Merchants on TikTok Shop are selling users a variety of weight loss drugs traditionally available only through prescriptions. One TikTok Shop listing advertises for $140 a supposed 5 milligram vial labeled semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which it is illegal for anyone other than a state-licensed health care provider to prescribe.
Although the image of the vial states that it is for “Research Use Only,” the product’s description says: “If you are looking for medication that can help you manage your diabetes or obesity, semaglutide is a great option.”
According to the product’s description, the business selling the product is Revitalized Health Research, located in Idaho. All businesses operating in Idaho have to be registered with the Idaho secretary of state, but there is no listing for Revitalized Health Research in the state’s database.
The TikTok Shop storefront also sells a product labeled BPC-157, an experimental peptide prohibited under the World Anti-Doping Agency. The TikTok Shop listing describes the substance as a “Muscle Growth Supplement.”
Another shop, Bionexus Technologies, sells products labeled as semaglutide and tirzepatide (otherwise known as Mounjaro, a popular weight loss drug similar to Ozempic). Just like Revitalized Health Research, Bionexus Technologies writes “for laboratory & research purposes only” on the vials, only to highlight the “potential in obesity and weight loss” in the descriptions.
TikTok Shop storefront Buckeye Amino Research sells vials of “Reta” (Retatrutide, a GLP-1 weight loss drug developed by Eli Lilly) for “Research Use Only.” Buckeye Amino Research is registered as Buckeye Scents LLC, which doubles as a Scentsy business. Scentsy is a multilevel-marketing company that primarily sells scented wax candle warmers.
TikTok storefronts are also selling DIY black market cosmetic injectables
In addition to weight loss and performance enhancement drugs, the marketplace is also saturated with supposed cosmetic injectables that are supposed to be exclusively provided and administered by professionals.
These injectables include Juvéderm, a dermal filler injected into the facial tissue. According to Juvéderm, the products should be injected “only by a licensed physician or properly licensed practitioner.” However, on TikTok Shop, consumers are being sold products labeled Juvederm by an apparent South Korean distributor.
Searching TikTok Shop for “juvederm” immediately returns a number of likely counterfeit Juvederm products from different sellers.
The same applies to Botox, a drug that prevents muscle from moving for a period of time. It is illegal to buy Botox without a clinical license, but TikTok Shop merchants are apparently selling the product.
All TikTok Shop merchants purporting to sell these illicit injectables are doing so without the use of coded language, something users often employ to dodge moderation. That raises the question of what the TikTok Shop product approval process looks like if black market pharmaceuticals can be brazenly advertised.
