Nigeria Takes Centre Stage at TikTok’s West Africa Safety Summit

Senior Nigerian government officials and digital safety experts took a leading role at TikTok’s West Africa Safety Summit held in Dakar, Senegal, as the platform intensifies efforts to create safer online spaces across the region.

Hosted in partnership with AfricTivistes, the summit brought together policymakers, NGOs, regulators, media, and industry leaders from Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia. The focus was on strengthening user protection and developing content moderation frameworks tailored to West Africa’s unique digital challenges.

Nigerian Experts Lead Regional Safety Discussions

At the forefront of the discussions was Dr Akinola Olojo, a Nigerian expert on preventing and countering violent extremism and a member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

Dr Olojo emphasised proactive safety measures:

“In today’s interconnected world, we must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities, especially in Africa, to resist radicalisation and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

The Nigerian delegation’s active participation highlighted the country’s commitment to shaping regional digital policy and ensuring online platforms remain safe for users across West Africa.

Proactive AI-Driven Moderation in Nigeria

The summit coincided with the release of TikTok’s Q2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, revealing the scale of moderation in Nigeria:

• 3,780,426 videos removed for guideline violations.
• 98.7% of removed videos were taken down before receiving a single view.
• 91.9% removed within 24 hours of posting.
• 49,512 LIVE sessions were banned in Nigeria during the same period.

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos, with 163.9 million handled by AI-driven moderation systems, 99.1% detected proactively, and 94.4% removed within 24 hours. Additionally, TikTok enforced LIVE monetisation guidelines for 2,321,813 sessions and 1,040,356 creators, with actions ranging from warnings to demonetisation.

Regional Collaboration Key to Digital Safety

Duduzile Mkhize, TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, stressed the importance of balancing global standards with local realities:

“While global, we remain hyper-local in our everyday efforts. Only through collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.”

The West Africa Safety Summit reflects TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative, promoting partnerships with governments, civil society, and industry leaders to address regional safety challenges while upholding global standards.

As digital platforms play an increasing role in African societies, cooperation between technology companies, governments, and local experts will be crucial in ensuring online spaces are safe, inclusive, and empowering for all users.