TikTok hosted its second annual Africa Safer Internet Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together government officials, regulators, and industry leaders across Sub-Saharan Africa. Delegates convened to discuss critical issues on online safety, content moderation, and digital policy development.
The summit underscores TikTok’s ongoing efforts to prioritise user safety in Africa while fostering an open dialogue with policymakers to shape robust frameworks that protect users’ rights while encouraging innovation and creativity in the digital space.
The summit was officially opened by South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Hon. Solly Malatsi, who highlighted the importance of collaboration among governments, technology platforms, and communities to foster a safer digital ecosystem.
Helena Lersch, TikTok’s Vice President for Public Policy, reaffirmed the platform’s commitment to user safety and the role of partnerships in creating a secure digital environment. “Billions of people come to TikTok every day to create, share, and connect —and we’re continually evolving our policies and practices to safeguard our platform so our community can discover and do what they love,” remarks Lersch. “This summit underscores the importance of collaboration between industry leaders and regulators in shaping a digital ecosystem that is both innovative and secure.”
Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations for TikTok Sub-Saharan Africa, further emphasised the significance of collective efforts in digital safety, stating that the Africa Safer Internet Summit serves as a valuable platform for sharing insights, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring that African users, particularly young people, are protected online.
During the summit, TikTok reported a significant upward trend in its content removal rate across Sub-Saharan Africa, with data showing a 249.81% increase in content removals from the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024. This improvement aligns with TikTok’s global standards for content moderation and community guidelines enforcement.
TikTok’s Community Guidelines Enforcement Reports reflect the platform’s continued investment in automated moderation technology, alongside human safety experts, that enables the detection and removal of harmful content before it reaches users. Globally, between July and September 2024, TikTok removed more than 147 million videos, of which 118 million were detected and removed automatically using these technologies.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, TikTok removed over 7.5 million videos in Q3 2024, rising to more than 8 million in Q4 2024—an increase of 14.06% quarter-on-quarter. Notably, 99.5% of these videos were removed before user reports, underscoring TikTok’s commitment to proactive moderation and swift action.
These figures highlight TikTok’s ongoing efforts to provide a safe and positive online environment through robust, technology-enabled content moderation systems.
As part of its broader commitment to digital safety and education, TikTok is expanding its efforts across Africa through strategic partnerships and training programs that promote digital literacy, safety awareness, and responsible content creation.
At the forefront of these efforts is TikTok’s flagship #SaferTogether campaign, which aims to spread awareness and teach community members about our Community Guidelines and safety features, with a series of digestible content by some of our most recognisable creators.
The campaign has achieved notable milestones since its launch in 2022. By working closely with civil society organisations, educators, and government agencies, TikTok continues to integrate proactive safety measures into its platform governance, creating safer digital environments for young users.
Since September 2024, TikTok has also partnered with local creators across Sub-Saharan Africa to raise awareness about its safety features and Community Guidelines.
The Safer Internet Summit serves as an essential forum for best practice sharing between industry leaders and policymakers. By fostering collaboration, TikTok aims to ensure that digital spaces remain safe, inclusive, and conducive to creativity while balancing the need for effective governance and innovation.
“We value forums such as TikTok’s Safer Internet Summit, which bring policymakers into one room for a shared purpose: keeping internet users safe,” said Emmanuel Edet, Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). “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.”
Shaping the future of digital safety in Africa, Global Youth Council
TikTok is also making a significant step in amplifying youth voices by expanding its Global Youth Council for 2025, further strengthening African representation. Originally launched in 2023 to empower young users and shape platform policies, the Global Youth Council has now nearly doubled in size, featuring 28 members from 15 countries. New representatives from Nigeria, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, and Australia will join returning members from Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the UK, and the US for a second term.
The youth council plays an important role in shaping TikTok’s safety, well-being, and inclusivity policies, ensuring that young users have a voice in the platform’s continued evolution.
