On Tuesday, 18 November 2025, AfricTivistes joined forces with TikTok at the inaugural Safety Summit in West Africa. This event brought together public and private stakeholders from various countries in the region. The goal was to strengthen user protection and adapt moderation mechanisms to local realities in a context where numerous threats were undermining citizens’ trust in digital platforms, including TikTok.

In his opening speech, Cheikh Fall, president of AfricTivistes, emphasised the need for stakeholders to work together.

“These issues require a collective response rooted in our African realities, based on collaboration between platforms, governments and civil society,” he said, highlighting threats such as “disinformation, propaganda, violent extremism, cybercrime, cyberbullying and the protection of personal data, as well as emerging challenges linked to artificial intelligence and content moderation”. The founder of the pan-African network called on TikTok and all digital stakeholders to recognise their role in building a safer, more inclusive and more responsible digital space.

Duduzile Mkhize, Head of the Outreach & Partnerships programme for Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, emphasised the importance of ongoing dialogue with local stakeholders, reaffirming the platform’s localised approach.

“Although we have a global reach, each of our actions remains firmly anchored in local realities.” The dialogue at this summit is invaluable. By collaborating with West African decision-makers and partners, we can avoid a fragmented and vulnerable digital environment. Synergistic action is essential to ensure a safe space where our community can discover, create and connect responsibly,” she said.

The summit brought together government representatives, content creators, civil society experts, public policy specialists, NGOs, regulators, media professionals and members of the tech ecosystem from several West African and Sahel countries, with the aim of examining digital abuses in a region where young people’s heavy social media usage has made them prime targets for manipulation, radicalisation, and disinformation campaigns.

Habibou Dia, Director of Communication at the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs of Senegal, emphasised the significance of this forum as a platform for cooperation, aiming to reconcile digital innovation, citizen protection and the implementation of sustainable and transparent regional policies.

“This collaborative forum is essential for equipping our governments with the tools needed to balance digital innovation and citizen protection. The shared commitment to safety and transparency sets a strong precedent for future regional policies, particularly with regard to preventive regulation, combating radicalisation, avoiding drastic social media shutdowns and establishing long-lasting channels of collaboration between platforms, governments and experts,” he said, commending Senegal for hosting this “unprecedented regional summit”, which provides an opportunity to share numerous examples of best practice”.

A turning point for digital safety in West Africa

This inaugural summit signifies a pivotal moment in TikTok’s commitment to upholding global safety standards and fostering a safer online environment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The  #SaferTogether initiative provided a collaborative space at the meeting where local challenges could be examined, expertise shared, and strategies identified to strengthen digital security infrastructures in the region.

“I have witnessed first-hand the crucial impact that local knowledge can have on shaping global policies. This summit showcases African solutions to digital challenges while ensuring our regional needs and perspectives remain central to discussions about achieving a free, inclusive and secure internet,” stated Aisha Dabo, Programme Coordinator at AfricTivistes and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

As a pan-African network dedicated to digital citizenship, AfricTivistes views this summit as a strategic opportunity to amplify the voices of African communities, share its locally grounded expertise and contribute to the strengthening of safety, trust and inclusion on digital platforms.

Nayanka Paquete Perdigao, Director of the Outreach & Partnerships team on Violent Behaviours and Dangerous Actors at TikTok, shares this perspective:

“Creativity thrives when everyone feels safe, respected and empowered. However, digital tools can also be misused by individuals who promote hate or violent ideologies. This is why collaboration between platforms, public authorities, and civil society is essential in order to understand and counter violent behaviours online”.

“Strengthening voices means equipping our communities — young creators, journalists and activists — to become informed participants in the digital space. Shaping the future means imagining a connected, inclusive and safe Africa where technology supports democracy and social progress,” argued Cheikh Fall.

The discussions were supported by TikTok’s latest data. In its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, the platform highlights how its automated moderation technology and human teams work together to quickly detect and remove harmful content before it reaches users.

In Senegal, for example, TikTok removed over 2.5 million videos and interrupted more than 16,000 LIVE sessions between the first and second quarters of 2024.Since January 2024, over 34 million videoshave been taken down in West Africa for violating the platform’s policies. Moderation capacities continue to improve, with 8.3 million removals in the second quarter 2025 — a 132% increase compared to the first  quarter 2024 — demonstrating TikTok’s ability to scale and adapt its detection systems.