In an ongoing effort to maintain a safe environment for its users, TikTok recently announced the removal of over 360,000 videos in Kenya that violated the platform’s community guidelines. This action was part of TikTok’s Community Guidelines Enforcement Report for Q2 2024, which highlights its commitment to user safety across its growing audience in the country.
The number of videos removed represents just 0.3% of all uploads in Kenya during this reporting period. However, the swift removal rate underscores TikTok’s proactive approach: the platform successfully identified and deleted 99.1% of the problematic content before users even flagged it, with 95% of the videos being removed within the first 24 hours of their posting.
TikTok’s enforcement extends beyond video content to user accounts as well. According to the report, over 60,000 accounts were banned in Kenya for violating community standards, including 57,262 accounts that were suspected to belong to users under the age of 13. This move reflects TikTok’s ongoing commitment to ensuring a safe space, especially for younger users, in line with its policies.
TikTok recently announced that it removed about 11,887,516 violative videos from nine African countries including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Algeria, Somalia, Libya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Morocco.
Related: TikTok removes over 11 million violative videos in nine African countries, led by Egypt and Nigeria
TikTok’s actions follow critiques from the Kenyan government, which earlier this year raised concerns about the platform’s role in spreading misinformation, enabling fraudulent activity, and distributing explicit content. In response to these concerns, Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, TikTok’s director of government and public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, appeared before Kenyan parliamentarians to outline the company’s policies. Mgwili-Sibanda emphasized TikTok’s strict Community Guidelines, which define acceptable behavior and ensure that TikTok remains a positive and inclusive platform. He also highlighted TikTok’s investment of over $2 billion in global Trust and Safety initiatives this year, underscoring the platform’s commitment to fostering a secure digital space.
To address the specific issues raised by the Kenyan government, TikTok has committed to a series of capacity-building workshops for local policymakers and regulatory agencies. These workshops will focus on online safety, data privacy, and content moderation, aiming to foster greater transparency and understanding of how the platform operates. “We value the opportunity to contribute to keeping our Kenyan community safe,” Mgwili-Sibanda said, adding that TikTok looks forward to closer collaboration with stakeholders in Kenya, including government officials, civil society, and educators.
In a further step to reinforce its regional safety efforts, TikTok recently appointed Kenya’s Lillian Kariuki to its newly formed TikTok Safety Advisory Council for Sub-Saharan Africa. This council, part of a global network of nine regional councils, brings together experts on youth safety, freedom of expression, and hate speech to provide guidance on TikTok’s policies and safety practices. With this advisory council, TikTok aims to stay responsive to local concerns while developing policies suited to the specific needs of Sub-Saharan Africa.
