TikTok has intensified its engagement with regulators in Nigeria and other African countries while ramping up enforcement against harmful content, resulting in the removal of millions of videos.
The short-video platform removed approximately 3.4 million videos in Nigeria during the third quarter of 2025 for violating its community guidelines, according to its latest transparency figures. This marks a notable surge in moderation efforts amid heightened regulatory oversight of technology companies by policymakers.
Head of government relations and public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, Tokunbo Ibrahim, told BusinessDay that the company recognises Nigeria as a dynamic digital market but one that requires close collaboration with authorities and other stakeholders.
Nigeria has heightened regulatory scrutiny of digital platforms in recent times. These developments align with wider initiatives by authorities to enhance accountability, privacy safeguards, and content regulation within the nation’s expanding digital landscape.
Ibrahim explained that TikTok’s strategy across the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Pakistan and South Asia (METAPSA) region emphasises early and ongoing engagement with governments, regulators, and civil society organisations.
“Our approach is rooted in keeping the community safe while enabling freedom of expression. We engage proactively with regulators and partners to support privacy awareness and compliance,” she said.
TikTok indicated that its enforcement data reveals most harmful content is identified before users flag it. In Nigeria, the platform achieved a proactive removal rate of 99.7 percent in the third quarter of 2025, demonstrating the effectiveness of its automated systems and human moderators in swiftly detecting violations.
The company employs a combination of sophisticated technology and thousands of trust and safety professionals to assess content that might contravene its policies, covering areas such as misinformation and harmful behaviour.
Online safety has emerged as a critical issue across Africa with the rapid rise in internet adoption, especially among youth who constitute a significant portion of TikTok’s audience. Governments in the region have stepped up calls for robust protections against misinformation, harmful material, and online abuse.
TikTok emphasised that partnering with governments and experts forms a core element of its approach. The company organised the TikTok Safer Summit in Kenya in March 2026, convening officials, policy specialists, non-governmental organisations, and industry representatives from nations including Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire.
The summit concentrated on bolstering online safety frameworks and refining content moderation strategies in African contexts, where cultural and linguistic diversity adds complexity to enforcement.
TikTok collaborates with independent fact-checking entities like Code for Africa to evaluate dubious content and classify it as accurate, false, or unverified.
According to Ibrahim, content breaching platform rules is either deleted or barred from recommendation feeds.
“We take action on misinformation regardless of intent,” she said.
The company noted that it consistently releases transparency reports detailing its handling of government requests for data, content takedown orders, and intellectual property claims.
TikTok also relies on a regional Safety Advisory Council in Sub-Saharan Africa, comprising academics and online safety specialists, to offer guidance on trust and safety policies as well as product enhancements.
Although Nigeria boasts a rapidly expanding creator economy, uncertainties persist regarding monetisation prospects for local users. The country is not currently part of TikTok’s global Creator Rewards Programme, which is active in select markets worldwide.
Nevertheless, the company stated that Nigerian creators generate earnings via alternative platform features, such as subscriptions, live streaming gifts, video gifts, and brand collaborations.
TikTok permits creators to partner with music artists on promotional initiatives, with earnings tied to video performance.
In addition to monetisation support, the company is committing resources to training initiatives designed to assist creators in transforming their online activity into viable businesses.
Via its LevelUpAfrica programme, TikTok has conducted training sessions and creator education efforts across several African nations, including Nigeria, to equip users with skills for audience expansion and content-based income generation.
TikTok further organises periodic online workshops and masterclasses to familiarise creators with emerging tools and safety protocols on the platform.
Meanwhile, worldwide discussions on data privacy and digital sovereignty continue to shape interactions between governments and tech firms. Certain policymakers advocate for tighter regulations on cross-border data movements and increased local data storage requirements.
Ibrahim stated that TikTok is tackling these issues through governmental collaboration and investments in regional data infrastructure.
“We are committed to protecting user data and storing it in regional data centres close to the user, while minimising cross-regional data flows where possible,” she said.
Moving forward, the company affirmed that fostering trust among regulators and users will stay a central focus as Africa’s digital economy continues to grow.
Ibrahim highlighted that achieving a safer internet demands joint efforts from governments, industry participants, and civil society.
“There is no finish line when it comes to safety. It is a continuous process of learning, adapting and working together to build a safer online environment,” she said.
