TikTok Deletes Nearly 900,000 Kenyan Videos as Sweeping Crackdown Targets Harmful Content and Underage Users
TikTok has removed 884,591 videos in Kenya for violating its Community Guidelines during the first quarter of 2026, as the social media giant intensified efforts to tackle harmful content, fake material, and underage users on its platform.
The figures, contained in TikTok’s Q1 2026 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, also reveal that the company permanently removed 48,739 accounts belonging to users under the age of 13, reinforcing its policy that prohibits children below the minimum age requirement from accessing the platform.
The latest enforcement drive comes amid growing scrutiny of social media platforms worldwide over online safety, misinformation, artificial intelligence-generated content, and the protection of young users.
TikTok said the removals reflect its continued commitment to creating a safer digital environment for Kenyan users while improving transparency around how it detects and enforces violations of its rules.
Beyond removing videos, the company has also tightened enforcement of its TikTok LIVE policies, particularly around livestream monetisation. According to the platform, more creators and LIVE sessions were either demonetised or issued warnings during the quarter after being found to have breached its community standards or monetisation requirements.
The company said the tougher measures are intended to preserve a safe, authentic and trustworthy livestreaming experience for users.
In addition, TikTok announced it is expanding transparency around AI-generated content, investing in new technologies and strengthening industry partnerships aimed at helping users distinguish authentic videos from synthetic or manipulated media.
The report highlights the increasing role of artificial intelligence in content moderation, with AI systems now detecting and removing the overwhelming majority of policy-violating material before it can spread across the platform.
According to TikTok, more than 96 per cent of all content removals globally are now identified through AI-powered moderation, significantly reducing the time harmful videos remain visible to users.
Despite the growing reliance on automation, the company said human oversight remains central to its moderation efforts, with thousands of safety specialists working alongside AI systems to review content and enforce platform rules.
“Thousands of trust and safety professionals work alongside innovative technology to maintain and enforce our robust Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and Advertising Policies, which apply to all content on our platform,” TikTok said in the report.
The company added that the combined use of artificial intelligence and human moderators is designed to protect users from harmful, fraudulent and misleading content while preserving TikTok as a platform for creativity, education and entertainment.
The latest figures underscore TikTok’s increasing reliance on advanced AI moderation as governments and regulators continue pressing technology companies to strengthen child safety protections, combat misinformation and improve accountability over the content shared on their platforms.
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