TikTok cracks down on harmful content in MENA with over 16.5 million videos removed in Q1 2025
TikTok is doubling down on safety and the numbers prove it. The platform has released its Q1 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, revealing the removal of over 16.5 million videos across Egypt, Iraq, the UAE, Morocco, and Lebanon for violating its rules between January and March.
From short-form clips to LIVE streams, TikTok’s enforcement efforts paint a clear picture: the platform is serious about keeping the MENA region a safe, respectful, and inclusive space. In addition to video removals, TikTok also banned hundreds of thousands of LIVE hosts and interrupted millions of livestreams to stop harmful content in real time.
Here’s how each country stacked up:
UAE
1,051,226 videos removed
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Proactive removal rate: 98.2%
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Removed within 24 hours: 94%
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LIVE enforcement: 86,790 hosts banned, 140,295 livestreams interrupted
Egypt
2.9 million videos removed
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Proactive removal rate: 99.6%
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Removed within 24 hours: 94.3%
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LIVE enforcement: 347,935 hosts banned, 587,246 livestreams interrupted
Morocco
1,040,981 videos removed
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Proactive removal rate: 98.9%
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Removed within 24 hours: 92.1%
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LIVE enforcement: 44,121 hosts banned, 77,396 livestreams interrupted
Iraq
10 million+ videos removed
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Proactive removal rate: 99.5%
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Removed within 24 hours: 95.5%
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LIVE enforcement: 346,335 hosts banned, 649,551 livestreams interrupted
Lebanon
1,349,478 videos removed
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Proactive removal rate: 99.5%
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Removed within 24 hours: 96.9%
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LIVE enforcement: 24,795 hosts banned, 45,536 livestreams interrupted
Appeals across Mena
TikTok isn’t just about takedowns, it’s also showing fairness with an active appeal system. If a user believes content was removed in error, they can appeal, and if successful, content is restored. Below is the number of video restored in each region:
- UAE: 41,148
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Iraq: 209,291
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Egypt: 144,605
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Morocco: 53,525
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Lebanon: 31,880
Why this matters
With TikTok’s global popularity, especially among younger users, safety has never been more important. The platform uses a hybrid of AI-driven moderation and human review to ensure harmful content is quickly identified and removed, while also empowering users with clear community rules and educational campaigns.
On top of enforcement, TikTok has been active in digital literacy campaigns, media partnerships, and community engagement across the region to promote safe, informed usage of the app.
The takeaway?
TikTok isn’t just entertaining, it’s working harder than ever to be safe, transparent, and user-first.
Want to dive into the full report? You can read it here.
Image: Unsplash
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