TikTok deletes 3.6m Nigerian videos in Q1 2025 over policy breaches

The figures were revealed in the company’s Q1 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, reaffirming the platform’s commitment to maintaining a safe, respectful and trustworthy digital environment.

According to the report, TikTok achieved a proactive detection rate of 98.4%, meaning the vast majority of the content was taken down before being reported by users. Additionally, 92.1% of the videos removed were taken down within 24 hours of being posted.

“This reflects TikTok’s continued investment in innovation, advanced technology, and expert moderation teams to improve enforcement systems that detect and remove harmful content before it reaches audiences,” the report reads.

Despite the high volume of removals, TikTok emphasised that the deleted videos represent a small fraction of the overall content shared by its Nigerian community. The company highlighted that the platform remains largely populated by positive, educational and entertaining content.

In March 2025, TikTok also took action against 129 accounts in West Africa that were linked to covert operations, further demonstrating its efforts to tackle coordinated harmful behaviour.

Crackdown on TikTok live violations

The report also noted a significant focus on TikTok LIVE content. The platform has strengthened its LIVE Monetisation Guidelines to make it clearer which types of content are ineligible for monetisation. In Nigeria, 42 196 LIVE rooms were banned and 48 156 live streams were interrupted in Q1 2025 for breaching the platform’s rules.

Globally, TikTok removed over 211 million videos during the same period, up from 153 million in the previous quarter. More than 184 million of these were removed through automated detection, with a global proactive detection rate of 99%. Despite these large numbers, TikTok noted that less than 1% of all uploaded content violates its guidelines, underscoring the overall quality and safety of the platform.

TikTok is also expanding its efforts to promote digital wellbeing across Sub-Saharan Africa. In June, the platform hosted it’s My Kind of TikTok Digital Well-being Summit in Africa, which brought together experts, NGOs, creators, media, and industry leaders to address online safety challenges.

Among the announcements made at the summit, TikTok revealed it is launching in-app helpline resources for Nigerian users in partnership with Cece Yara, a child-focused NGO. This initiative will provide expert support to users encountering content related to suicide, self-harm, hate speech, and harassment.

In a further step towards community support, TikTok has named Nigerian healthcare professional Dr Olawale Ogunlana, popularly known as Doctor Wales, as one of its Digital Well-being Ambassadors. He joins a group of verified health experts from the WHO Fides Network promoting mental and emotional safety online.

The platform continues to advocate for user participation through its #SaferTogether campaign, which encourages reporting harmful content and fostering a more respectful online environment.

The full report is available here.