RECENTLY, TikTok released its latest Community Guidelines Enforcement Report which underscores the platform’s reinforced commitment to maintaining a safe, creative, and authentic online environment.
Focusing on the third quarter of 2024 and published in December 2024, the report reflects updated Community Guidelines that took effect in May 2024 —guidelines designed to provide the community with enhanced transparency about the rules and their enforcement.
The report notes that the Community Guidelines are continuously updated, with adjustments that range from minor to substantial ones like AI-content labelling etc. For instance, the May update involved revising policy titles and replacing ampersands (&) with the word “and,” while more significant updates have addressed emerging issues and shifts in online behaviour.
“Sometimes our changes are more substantive, reflecting emerging issues or trends in online behaviour. This most recent update included specific language about our AI-generated content policies, consistent with growing interest in AI and AI tools across the internet.
“In addition to revising our Community Guidelines, TikTok evaluates and updates our enforcement tools on a regular basis. One of TikTok’s eight Community Principles is to apply our content polices consistently, equitably, and transparently,” the report stated partly.
To achieve this, the platform continually assesses its automated moderation tools with the aim of enhancing both accuracy and speed, thereby fostering a broad spectrum of creative expression, it noted. It added that previous reports have shown that these investments are yielding tangible improvements, evidenced by a higher proactive removal rate and an increased number of videos restored.
The FactCheckHub observed that content removals in the third quarter of 2024 targeted accounts promoting sexual and explicit content, misinformation, fake engagements, suicide and self-harm, gambling, frauds and scams, drugs, hate speech, harassment, and bullying, among others.
Data from the report indicate that 147,875,561 videos were removed in the third quarter, compared to 178,827,465 in the second quarter. Of these, 118,268,578 videos were removed by automation, and 5,161,074 videos were restored during the third quarter.
Additionally, 187,309,345 fake accounts were removed, along with 24,304,797 accounts under the age of 13 and 3,266,134 other accounts. Live sessions saw 12,299,711 suspensions and 858,674 restorations, while 1,325,259,497 comments were removed within the period under review.
The policy distribution of removals, according to TikTok, were classified into six categories namely:
- Integrity and authenticity
- Privacy and Security
- Safety and Civility
- Mental and Behavioral health
- Regulated and commercial activities
- Sensitive and mature themes
Sensitive and mature themes accounted for 29.1 per cent of removals, regulated goods and commercial activities 26.6 per cent, and mental and behavioural health 19.5 per cent. In contrast, the integrity and authenticity category comprised the lowest share at 2.0 per cent.
The report also highlights a noticeable decline in the number of ads removed for advertising policy violations: 1,925,560 ads were removed due to policy breaches and 3,683,135 ads due to account-level enforcement actions in the third quarter, compared to 2,252,084 and 5,319,552, respectively, in the previous first and second quarters.
So, how can users avoid falling foul of the platform’s community guidelines? Experts react below:
What TikTok users should do to avoid violations
Stay Informed
Regularly review TikTok’s updated Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and Advertising Policies—available on TikTok’s official blog and help center—to understand what content is allowed.
Speaking with The FactCheckHub, a TikTok influencer Benita Peters (@benitapeters_) noted that TikTokers should simply adhere to the community guidelines, noting that they exist for a reason.
Sunday Awosoro, a fact-checker with Dubawa also shared the same view with Peters noting that TikTok users should carefully review the platform’s community guidelines and refrain from sharing misinformation or harmful content.
Verify Before Sharing
Ensure that any content you create or share is authentic. Avoid posting unverified, digitally-altered or manipulated media, especially if it touches on sensitive issues like politics, health, or religion.
“If you’re unsure about the accuracy of what you’re sharing, don’t post it at all. And if you must, fact-check it first or consult a fact-checking organisation,” Awosoro advised.
Use Reporting Tools
If you encounter content that appears to violate TikTok’s policies (such as misinformation, hate speech, or manipulated videos), report it immediately using the platform’s built-in reporting features. This helps maintain a safe community.
Engage Responsibly
Recognize that enforcement actions are applied to accounts repeatedly sharing problematic content. By following the guidelines and verifying sources, users help foster an environment that rewards creativity and respectful engagement.
Another TikTok influencer, Favour Obetta a.k.a. facetacy reiterated that TikTok users should avoid prohibited content and stay informed about policy updates.
“TikTokers should avoid prohibited content like suicide, eating disorders, bullying, nudity, contents that mislead people, using music videos or pictures without proper rights and stuffs like that and then staying updated on policy changes,” Obetta warned.
In conclusion, don’t forget that TikTok consistently reviews and upgrades its systems to detect new trends and promptly remove content and ads that violate its policies, reinforcing its continuous commitment to protecting the community from fake, fraudulent, or misleading content and ads.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org