…Platform intensifies safety measures, partners with local NGO Cece Yara, and appoints Nigerian doctor as digital well-being ambassador
By Damilola Abiola
In a move to deepen its commitment to online safety, TikTok says it removed over 3.6 million videos in Nigeria between January and March 2025 for violating its Community Guidelines, marking a 50% increase in takedowns from the previous quarter.
The figures, released in TikTok’s Q1 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscore the platform’s continued investment in automated moderation and human expertise to maintain a safe, respectful, and trustworthy digital space.
“Our proactive detection rate in Nigeria stood at an impressive 98.4%, with 92.1% of violative content removed within 24 hours,” the company revealed in the report.
“This reflects our commitment to staying ahead of harmful content through innovative technology and human moderation.”
While millions of Nigerian creators continue to post educational, entertaining, and inspiring content on TikTok daily, the platform says its latest enforcement actions represent only a small fraction of the overall videos shared locally. The removals, it said, should be viewed within the context of a predominantly positive user experience.
In addition to general content violations, TikTok LIVE, the platform’s real-time streaming feature—also came under stricter scrutiny. Between January and March, TikTok banned 42,196 LIVE rooms and interrupted 48,156 streams in Nigeria that were found to breach community standards.
Globally, the platform removed 211 million videos, a sharp rise from the 153 million taken down in the last quarter of 2024. Notably, more than 184 million of those were detected and removed through automation, with the global proactive detection rate reaching 99%.
Despite the scale of these interventions, TikTok insists that harmful content continues to make up less than 1% of what users upload, suggesting the platform’s broader content ecosystem remains largely constructive and positive.
As part of its safety initiatives in Nigeria, TikTok is also enhancing digital well-being features and localising support for users. At the “My Kind of TikTok Digital Well-being Summit” hosted in June, TikTok announced the launch of in-app helpline resources for Nigerian users in partnership with Cece Yara, a child-focused NGO.
“This partnership will ensure young users in Nigeria can access professional help and report issues like self-harm, hate, or harassment directly through the app,” the platform said.
In another major announcement, Nigerian medical expert Dr. Olawale Ogunlana (popularly known as Doctor Wales) was named a TikTok Digital Well-being Ambassador, joining a global team of healthcare professionals under the WHO Fides Network to support health-positive content and guidance on the platform.
These developments are part of TikTok’s #SaferTogether campaign, a global movement advocating shared responsibility among platforms, users, and communities to build safer online experiences.
“Our goal is not just to remove harmful content, but also to empower users with knowledge and tools to stay safe,” TikTok stated.
“We are proud to bring these additional resources to Nigeria and reaffirm our promise to protect and uplift our growing community.”
As TikTok scales its presence across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Q1 2025 report signals a strategic shift toward localised safety, partnerships, and transparency, with Nigeria emerging as a key focus in the platform’s global safety ecosystem.