TikTok has released its Q1 2026 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, highlighting its continuous commitment to fostering a safe and trusted space for its users.
In the first quarter of 2026, TikTok removed 1,192,526 million videos for violating its Community Guidelines in South Africa. 99.6% of these videos were proactively removed before anyone reported them, while 94.9% were taken down within 24 hours of posting. These figures underscore TikTok’s continued investment in advanced detection systems and rapid response mechanisms designed to limit the spread of harmful content.
Globally, TikTok removed a total of 184,012,576 videos during the quarter, representing about 0.5% of all content uploaded on the platform. Of these, 178,014,154 videos were detected and taken down using automated detection technologies and 8,838,710 videos were reinstated after further review. The platform recorded a 99.3% proactive removal rate, with 94.4% of flagged content removed within 24 hours of posting.
Removal of Under 13 Accounts
In South Africa, TikTok removed more than 346,000 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13, a violation of its Community Guidelines, highlighting the platform’s commitment to protecting younger users online.
TikTok LIVE
In the latest report, TikTok emphasises its commitment to keeping the TikTok LIVE experience safe. The platform has noted a further rise in the number of LIVE streams being interrupted and the number of LIVE monetisation enforcement actions (both demonetisation and warnings).
In South Africa, TikTok interrupted 141,565 LIVE rooms for violation of guidelines. Globally, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetisation, on 58,207,389 LIVE sessions and 21,996,667 LIVE creators for violating the platform’s LIVE monetisation guidelines. Warnings serve as an opportunity to educate creators when their content may breach LIVE monetisation policies, allowing them to make necessary changes.
Deepening AI transparency and partnerships
TikTok aims to protect its community by prohibiting and removing AI-generated content that is harmful or misleading, and requiring people to label realistic AIGC. In Quarter 1 of 2026, TikTok removed 32,504 videos under the policy for edited media and AI-generated content (AIGC).
The platform requires people to label realistic AI-generated content. This is achieved throughlabelling tools for creators as well as automated detection models. TikTok uses a cross-industry technology called C2PA Content Credentials, a leading AI transparency technology that helps people understand when content has been generated or significantly edited by AI. Additionally, TikTok just announced that it has now joined the C2PA’s Steering Committee, to help drive adoption of this technology across the industry. These efforts helped label over 3 billion videos to date.
Committed to Safety and Integrity
TikTok remains committed to inspiring creativity and bringing joy while prioritising the safety and well-being of its South African community. By combining advanced automated moderation tools with the expertise of thousands of trust and safety professionals worldwide, TikTok continues to enforce its Community Guidelines consistently and at scale, addressing harmful content such as misinformation, hate speech, and other policy violations.
The full Q1 2026 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report is available and can be accessed here.
