TikTok Launches Campaign To Strengthen Community Safety 

TikTok in partnership with a local organisation, Data Science Network (DSN), has launched a campaign, #SaferTogether, the first safety campaign for TikTok in Sub-Saharan Africa which aimed to empower creators, parents, teachers and guardians with knowledge of TikTok’s safety features to ensure a positive in-app experience for everyone.

Parents can enable this feature for extra support and safety by linking their TikTok account to their teens’ and customize privacy settings like screen time and restricting direct messages that may be considered harmful to their teens. Setting this up together with teens will help guide their online experience while allowing time to educate about online safety and digital citizenship.

Public policy and government relations director at TikTok in Africa, Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, reaffirmed that user safety was TikTok’s top priority as the platform is committed to promoting a safe and welcoming app environment for its community.

Mgwili-Sibanda said, “With TikTok’s increased popularity in Nigeria and the upcoming government elections, which typically have a huge online presence, this is a good time to emphasize the importance of online safety. TikTok remains dedicated to creating a safe space for Nigerian creators to thrive by offering a number of tools and controls to help manage their experience on the platform.

“This campaign is a promise we made and are now fulfilling, as we regularly engaged various stakeholders this year, with the goal of understanding our community’s needs for online safety. This is our way of saying to creators, parents and guardians and wider stakeholder community that we are purposefully working with the TikTok community to establish a safe space and are committed to making it better, together.”

Mgwili-Sibanda went on to explain, “Our in-app safety features help users manage their account, content and privacy settings including who can see, like, or comment on their videos. We regularly work with experts in online security, wellness, and digital literacy, as well as family safety experts, to help provide advice and resources for our community.”

Furthermore, as part of TikTok’s commitment to ensuring safety on the platform, the entertainment platform also announced its partnership with DSN, an organization that was established to support and encourage an increase in safety awareness. Through this partnership, DSN will conduct in-community workshops with parents, teachers, and guardians in schools in Abuja and Lagos, educating and empowering them to understand the digital world and how they can help young people stay safe online.

Speaking on the partnership, founder and CEO of DSN, Dr Olubayo Adekanmbi, said, “The digital world is our new normal for learning, engagement, and socialization; hence, the need to make it safer has become our shared responsibility. As practitioners in digital education, we are very excited to promote the new safety features from TikTok and how they guarantee digital wellness and the safety of every child online.”

At TikTok, there is a centralized location for safety updates called the Safety Centre as well as the Guardian’s Guide that provides updated resources available to the community. These resources are also available to parents and guardians. TikTok creators and users are encouraged to visit the Safety Centre to stay up-to-date on the latest TikTok safety initiatives.

In addition to this, TikTok also hosted a TikTok for Peace Live on Friday, November 25, 2022, to further unpack the realities of the internet and how communities can encourage online safety awareness. The session was hosted by renowned Nigerian content creator, actor and make-up artist, Tijani Aboh Alexander (i_am_tjan), and had Mr Lanre Olagunju, Fact-checker, Editor at The Cable and Babatope Falade-Onikoyi, Managing Partner at Onikoyi Consulting as well as Dr Olubayo Adekanmbi, Founder and CEO of DSN dissecting this complex topic.