Over 884,000 videos taken down in Kenya as TikTok tightens content rules

TikTok removed more than 884,000 videos in Kenya during the first three months of 2026 as the social media platform stepped up efforts to curb harmful content and enforce its Community Guidelines.

According to TikTok's Q1 2026 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, a total of 884,591 videos were removed in Kenya between January and March after they were found to have violated the platform's rules.

The figures highlight the scale of content moderation taking place on one of the country's most popular social media platforms.

The report also shows that TikTok is increasingly relying on automated technology to identify harmful content before it reaches a wider audience.

One of the report's key findings is the speed at which TikTok acted against content that breached its policies.

The platform said 99.7 per cent of the violating videos removed in Kenya were detected and taken down proactively before they were reported by users. In addition, 96.3 per cent of the videos were removed within 24 hours of being posted.

According to TikTok, these figures reflect continued investment in advanced detection systems and moderation tools designed to quickly identify content that violates its Community Guidelines and limit its spread.

The company says its moderation approach combines artificial intelligence with thousands of trust and safety professionals who review content and enforce policies consistently across the platform.

Beyond removing videos, TikTok also intensified efforts to protect younger users on the platform.

The report reveals that 48,739 accounts in Kenya suspected to belong to users under the age of 13 were removed during the quarter. Having an account while under 13 is a violation of TikTok's Community Guidelines.

The removals form part of the platform's broader child safety measures, which are aimed at ensuring younger users are protected from inappropriate content and online risks.

TikTok also reported increased enforcement on its LIVE feature, where users broadcast content in real time.

During the first quarter of 2026, the platform interrupted 103,847 LIVE rooms in Kenya after they were found to have violated its Community Guidelines.

Globally, TikTok took action against more than 58.2 million LIVE sessions and nearly 22 million creators for breaching LIVE monetisation policies. These actions included warnings and demonetisation.

TikTok said warnings are intended to educate creators whose content risks violating monetisation policies, giving them an opportunity to adjust future broadcasts and remain compliant with the platform's rules.

The latest report also highlights TikTok's growing focus on artificial intelligence and the increasing need for transparency around AI-generated content.

During the reporting period, TikTok removed 14,261 videos globally under its policy covering edited media and AI-generated content that was considered harmful or misleading.

The platform requires creators to label realistic AI-generated content and uses both creator tools and automated detection systems to identify such material.

TikTok also announced that it has joined the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), an industry initiative promoting technology that helps identify content created or significantly edited using artificial intelligence.

According to the company, these efforts have helped label more than three billion videos worldwide to date.

Worldwide, TikTok removed 184,012,576 videos during the first quarter of 2026, representing approximately 0.5 per cent of all videos uploaded to the platform during the period.

Of those, 178 million were detected and removed using automated moderation technologies, while 8.8 million videos were later reinstated following further review.

Globally, the platform achieved a 99.3 per cent proactive removal rate, with 94.4 per cent of violating content taken down within 24 hours of being posted.