TikTok has removed more than 3.6 million videos from its Nigerian platform in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 50 per cent increase in takedowns compared to the previous quarter, the company revealed in its latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Report.
The Q1 2025 report, released on Tuesday, highlights the platform’s ongoing campaign to make its online space “safe, respectful, and trustworthy.” The sharp rise in removals points to intensified moderation efforts, with TikTok boasting a 98.4 per cent proactive detection rate — meaning the vast majority of harmful content was removed before it could be flagged by users. Additionally, 92.1 per cent of videos were taken down within 24 hours of being uploaded.
While the volume of removed content appears significant, TikTok was quick to note that it represents only a “small fraction” of all content shared by Nigerian users, the majority of which it described as “positive, educational, and entertaining.”
Beyond general takedowns, the platform also targeted misinformation and covert influence operations in the region. In March alone, 129 accounts linked to coordinated activity in West Africa were taken down. The company has also stepped up enforcement on its LIVE feature, banning 42,196 LIVE rooms and interrupting more than 48,000 streams in Nigeria for violating community guidelines.
“LIVE content enforcement remains a priority as we continue to protect the integrity of real-time interactions,” the company stated.
Globally, TikTok removed over 211 million videos between January and March 2025, up from 153 million in the previous quarter. Of these, 184 million were automatically detected, resulting in a global proactive enforcement rate of 99 per cent. Despite the scale of removals, TikTok maintains that harmful content still accounts for less than one per cent of total uploads.
The company’s increased enforcement comes alongside broader efforts to promote digital well-being across Africa. In June, TikTok Africa hosted the My Kind of TikTok Digital Well-being Summit, which brought together mental health experts, creators, NGOs, and tech leaders from across Sub-Saharan Africa to discuss safety and user empowerment online.
In a major new initiative, TikTok has expanded its in-app helpline to Nigeria in partnership with Cece Yara, a child-focused non-profit organisation. The helpline, accessible within the app, offers expert support to young users navigating issues such as suicide, self-harm, harassment, and online hate.
TikTok also appointed Dr Olawale Ogunlana — better known as Doctor Wales — as its Digital Well-being Ambassador for Nigeria. He joins a network of professionals under the WHO-affiliated Fides initiative, aimed at supporting safe and informed social media use.
These efforts form part of the platform’s wider #SaferTogether campaign, which encourages users to report harmful content and contribute to a more respectful and secure online environment.
As TikTok’s popularity continues to grow across Nigeria and the continent, the platform appears keen to show it can meet the challenges of scale — not only with ever-smarter enforcement tools, but also with a growing network of human-centred support systems designed to ensure that safety isn’t left behind in the race for engagement.
