TikTok Takes Bold Steps to Clean Up Nigerian Content Space
Between January and March 2025, TikTok pulled down more than 3.6 million videos uploaded by Nigerian users for going against its community rules—a sharp 50% jump from the previous quarter.
This update came from TikTok’s Q1 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, released on Tuesday, which highlights the platform’s ongoing efforts to create a safer and more respectful digital environment across Nigeria and West Africa.
According to the report, TikTok’s systems flagged and removed 98.4% of these videos before users could even report them. Impressively, 92.1% were taken down within the first 24 hours.
While the number of deleted videos might sound overwhelming, TikTok emphasized that this is just a fraction of the total content shared by users in Nigeria. “Most of what’s posted is still uplifting, fun, and informative,” the company said.
The report also noted a tougher stance on real-time content. In just three months, TikTok shut down over 42,000 LIVE rooms and cut short nearly 48,200 live streams in Nigeria due to policy violations.
“Ensuring safety in real-time interactions is a key priority,” the company stated.
Beyond local enforcement, TikTok also removed 129 West African accounts in March 2025 linked to fake operations and false information.
On a global scale, the platform deleted over 211 million videos in Q1 2025—up from 153 million in the final quarter of 2024. Most of those videos—around 184 million—were caught and removed by automated systems. The global detection rate? A near-perfect 99%.
Focusing on Youth Safety in Nigeria
But TikTok isn’t just deleting content—it’s also trying to protect its younger users more proactively. In June, the platform hosted a digital well-being summit in Nigeria called “My Kind of TikTok,” bringing together non-profits, tech leaders, content creators, and mental health experts from across Sub-Saharan Africa.
One major outcome of the summit was the launch of an in-app helpline in Nigeria, created in partnership with Cece Yara, an organization focused on protecting children. This new feature offers direct support to young users dealing with bullying, harassment, or mental health struggles.
As part of its ongoing wellness push, TikTok also named Dr. Olawale Ogunlana—better known as Doctor Wales—as its Digital Well-being Ambassador in Nigeria. A known voice in mental health circles, Ogunlana now joins the WHO Fides Network to support safe online spaces for young people.
He’s expected to lead awareness efforts and reinforce TikTok’s message: online spaces can be both entertaining and safe.
Through its #SaferTogether initiative, the platform is encouraging users to report harmful posts and help build a respectful digital community.
While problematic content still makes up less than 1% of all uploads worldwide, TikTok says it remains firm on its no-nonsense stance when it comes to user safety—especially for young Nigerians navigating the online world.
