Nigeria: TikTok Suspends Nighttime Livestreams in Nigeria Amid Rising Sexual Exploitation Reports

8 December 2025
Vanguard (Lagos)

TikTok has suspended access to its late-night LIVE feature in Nigeria following a surge in livestreams containing explicit sexual content, including cases of users engaging in real-time sex acts before large online audiences.

The suspension was communicated to Nigerian users on Monday through an in-app system notification, in which the company said it was conducting a safety review to "ensure the platform remains safe and our community stays protected." TikTok did not specify how long the restriction will remain in place.

According to internal enforcement data shared during TikTok's West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, the platform has struggled with escalating misuse of its LIVE feature in Nigeria. The company reported that in the second quarter of 2025 alone, it issued warnings and demonetised more than 2.3 million LIVE sessions and penalised over one million creators for violating monetisation rules.

Nigeria accounted for 49,512 banned LIVE sessions during the period -- one of the highest enforcement figures across the region.

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In recent months, late-night TikTok LIVE sessions in Nigeria became widely known for hosting sexually explicit activity. Some creators performed erotic acts in exchange for virtual gifts, while others organised coordinated adult shows aimed at generating rapid payouts from the platform's gifting system.

The temporary nighttime ban now prevents users in Nigeria from hosting or viewing LIVE broadcasts during the hours most associated with the spread of sexual content. TikTok said the measure is part of a broader review of its safety protocols in the country and noted that similar restrictions have previously been implemented in other markets experiencing spikes in policy violations.

TikTok has not provided a timeline for restoring late-night LIVE access as its investigation continues.

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