TikTok has temporarily restricted access to its LIVE feature for users in Nigeria during late-night hours, issuing an in-app notice to creators as part of what it described as a safety-related investigation.

At midnight Nigerian time on Sunday, users received a system notification stating:
“LIVE⚫ Notices
TikTok LIVE Update in Nigeria
We’re temporarily limiting LIVE late at night in Nigeria as part of our investigation to ensure our platform remains safe and our community stays protected.”

Checks confirmed that LIVE sessions, which had been accessible earlier in the night, became unavailable between 11pm and 5am. Affected accounts displayed a “No Access” label, and creators were also unable to view LIVE broadcasts from other countries.

The restriction applied only to creators with at least 1,000 followers — the minimum required to host a LIVE session. Several creators confirmed that all LIVE activities were halted throughout the night.

Despite concerns, TikTok maintained creators’ earnings and LIVE gifting balances, ensuring no financial losses occurred during the temporary shutdown.

By Monday morning, the platform had restored LIVE access nationwide, triggering speculation across social media about the motive for the sudden and sweeping restriction. Late-night hours are typically peak streaming periods in Nigeria, with creators hosting matches, entertainment shows, interactive conversations, and trend-driven programs that attract high viewer engagement and virtual gifts.

The development comes weeks after TikTok released updated safety statistics for West Africa.
At its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, the company revealed that in the second quarter of 2025, it took action against:

  • 2,321,813 LIVE sessions and
  • 1,040,356 LIVE creators globally

for violating the platform’s LIVE monetisation guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 LIVE sessions were banned within the same period.

The company also reported removing 3,780,426 videos from Nigeria between April and June 2025 for breaching Community Guidelines. Of these removals,

  • 98.7% were taken down before they were viewed and
  • 91.9% were removed within 24 hours.

TikTok LIVE enables users to broadcast in real time, interact with viewers through comments, and receive virtual gifts. To go LIVE, users generally must have at least 1,000 followers, be 16 or older (18 to earn monetised gifts), maintain a clean account history, and access the feature through the “+” button within the app.

As of press time, TikTok had not issued further details regarding the nature of the ongoing safety investigation that prompted the temporary restriction.

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