TikTok removed more than 4.8 million videos from its Nigerian platform in the first quarter of 2026, as the social media giant stepped up the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect harmful content before users could report it.
The company said 99.8 percent of the videos taken down between January and March were removed proactively by its automated moderation systems, while 92.8 percent were deleted within 24 hours of being posted. The removed videos accounted for just 0.6 percent of all content uploaded by Nigerian users during the period, suggesting that the overwhelming majority of content complied with the platform’s rules.
Read also: TikTok navigates Nigeria’s regulatory pressure as safety takedowns surge
The figures, contained in TikTok’s latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, highlight how the company is increasingly relying on AI to strengthen trust and safety on one of its fastest-growing markets in Africa. The platform has come under growing pressure globally from regulators to better tackle misinformation, harmful content and AI-generated media.
Nigeria is one of TikTok’s biggest markets on the continent, with millions of young users driving growth in digital entertainment, e-commerce and creator-led businesses. As usage rises, the company is investing more heavily in automated moderation to reduce the spread of harmful content without slowing user engagement.
Beyond regular videos, TikTok also intensified enforcement on its LIVE streaming service. The company suspended more than 120,000 LIVE sessions in Nigeria during the quarter for violating its Community Guidelines, about 40,000 more than in the previous reporting period. The increase reflects stricter enforcement rather than a surge in violations, as the platform expands monitoring of livestreams, where harmful content can spread more quickly.
Globally, TikTok removed more than 184 million videos during the quarter, representing only 0.5 percent of all uploads worldwide. The company also carried out more than 58 million enforcement actions on TikTok LIVE, including suspending over 50.7 million livestreams and issuing warnings or demonetising nearly 22 million creators who breached its policies.
Artificial intelligence has also become a new focus for the platform as generative AI tools make it easier to create realistic but misleading content. In Nigeria, TikTok removed more than 118,000 pieces of content under its edited media and AI-generated content policy during the first quarter.
The company said it has now labelled more than three billion AI-generated videos globally using a combination of creator disclosures, Content Credentials and invisible watermarking technology. The move is aimed at helping users distinguish between authentic and AI-generated content as synthetic media becomes more common.
TikTok said it is also testing improved systems to identify accounts that mass-produce AI-generated spam. During the quarter, it removed more than 86 million fake accounts worldwide as part of broader efforts to improve the quality and authenticity of content on the platform.
The latest enforcement report shows that TikTok’s safety strategy is expanding beyond content removal to AI governance. At the recent AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, the company announced new initiatives to improve transparency around AI-generated content and strengthen industry standards by joining the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) Steering Committee.
For Nigeria, TikTok plans to launch an in-app AI Literacy Hub in the coming weeks to help users recognise AI-generated content and better understand how AI tools are used on the platform. The company has also committed more than $4 million to its global AI Literacy Fund and is working with local organisations, including the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and Paradigm Initiative, to deliver AI education.
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Those partnerships have generated more than 200 million views since late 2025, underscoring growing public interest in understanding AI as the technology becomes a larger part of everyday digital life.
TikTok said it continues to work closely with Nigerian authorities, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), and civil society groups to strengthen online safety. The collaboration reflects a broader trend of technology companies working more closely with governments as regulators demand greater accountability over content moderation and AI governance.
The latest report suggests that the next phase of competition among social media platforms may no longer be driven only by user growth, but by their ability to build trust through faster AI-powered moderation, greater transparency and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
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