In early 2022, two police departments, one in Dorset, England and the other in Lafayette County in Wisconsin, each released a statement regarding the character Huggy Wuggy. They claimed that due to the character's name, various videos were not being blocked by firewalls or filtered by parental filters on sites like TikTok and YouTube Kids. The former also claimed that there were reports of children in the United Kingdom recreating a game where one child hugs another and whispers sinister things into their ear. They also claimed a child had attempted to jump out a window in an effort to mimic the character, and that the Luxemberg-Casco School District in Wisconsin had been receiving complaints about children not being able to sleep due to the character.

Similarly, a primary school in Adelaide, Australia warned parents about adaptations of the game and violent songs involving the character. However, the fact-checking site Snopes found that while there had been reports from parents within the United Kingdom, the police had incorrectly claimed that Huggy Wuggy sang songs, as these songs were fanmade and did not appear in the game. They also revealed that inappropriate videos involving the character were not available to younger viewers of TikTok or YouTube Kids, as confirmed by spokespersons from both. Mob Entertainment CEO Zach Belanger would also comment on the situation, claiming the warnings were "completely untrue and/or grossly exaggerated".