TikTok has reiterated its ongoing commitment to keeping its African users safe by hosting the 2nd Annual Sub-Saharan Africa Safer Internet Summit in Cape Town. The summit brought together government officials, regulators, and industry players from across Sub-Saharan Africa to discuss pressing issues of online safety, content moderation, and digital policy development.
Parts of the statement in the press release that explains the platform’s dual agenda of fostering innovation and a secure online environment reads:
“Billions of people come to TikTok every day to create, share and connect, and we are continually evolving our policies and practices to safeguard our platform so our community can discover and do what they love. This summit underscores the importance of collaboration between industry leaders and regulators in shaping a digital ecosystem that is both innovative and secure,” according to Helena Lersch, TikTok’s Vice President for Public Policy.
To align with TikTok’s global standards for content moderation and community guidelines enforcement, the platform shared some figures that point to its aggressive content moderation efforts in Africa during the summit. The company revealed that in Q3 2024, it removed over 7.5 million videos, and in Q4 2024, that number went up to over 8 million, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.06%.
The platform’s Community Guidelines Enforcement Reports, which are referenced in the release, confirm that between July and September 2024, TikTok removed over 147 million videos globally, 118 million of which were automatically detected and removed using advanced moderation technology.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, TikTok’s measures resulted in 99.5% of the videos being removed prior to any user reports. The trend was similar in North Africa, with over 7 million videos removed in Q3 and Q4 of 2024 and 99.3% of takedowns occurring before user reports.
TikTok strengthening digital safety with strategic partnerships
During the summit, TikTok revealed its plans to promote digital literacy and safety awareness in Africa. Under its flagship #SaferTogether initiative, TikTok is amplifying efforts by means of strategic partnerships and targeted training programs.
In Kenya, the campaign has reached over 406,000 attendees through offline workshops conducted in partnership with the youth protection organization Eveminet. Through the workshops, communities, students, teachers, and parents have been equipped with the means for safe online engagement.
In Nigeria, TikTok has launched Phase 2 of the #SaferTogether campaign in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Data Science Nigeria (DSN). Expanding on Phase 1, which taught parents in cities like Abuja, Lagos, and Kano about TikTok’s safety tools and mental wellness features, the new phase will broaden safety awareness to other states. This expansion is intended to see to it that “African users, and especially young people, are safe online.”
Commenting on the initiative, the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance NITDA, Emmanuel Edet, stated: “We value forums such as TikTok’s Safer Internet Summit, which bring policymakers into one room for a shared purpose: keeping internet users safe. We are incredibly proud to be a partner of TikTok’s #SaferTogether campaign. This collaboration not only underscores our shared commitment to fostering a safer online environment but also opens new avenues for innovation and collaboration that will enable us to scale our efforts effectively for a safer internet for all..”
The expansion of the #SaferTogether campaign is particularly important to younger users, who are a growing demographic right across the continent. TikTok is engaging with educators, community leaders, and civil society organizations to provide targeted training sessions. In expanding its reach to schools and youth centres, Tiktock plans to teach responsible digital behaviour and also empower youth to learn about the value of digital citizenship.
By fostering collaboration between governments, industry leaders, and community organizations and by extending its multiple initiatives, TikTok is making efforts to ensure that young African users have access to a safer, more responsible online space.
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