TikTok has imposed a late-night restriction on its LIVE feature in Nigeria, blocking users from hosting or watching live streams during peak night hours.
The restriction began quietly at midnight on Sunday, when LIVE access across the country was shut down without prior public announcement. Creators reported seeing a “No Access” notification between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., confirming that the blackout was nationwide.
In an in-app message to eligible creators — those with at least 1,000 followers — TikTok said, “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.”
Affected users said the shutdown was total, with no ability to start LIVE sessions or watch broadcasts from other countries. However, creators who earn money through LIVE gifting reported that their balances remained intact.
LIVE access was restored on Monday morning, but the incident sparked debate on social media as Nigerians questioned the choice of late-night hours, which typically record the highest traffic for match streams, entertainment content, and interactive trends.
The move follows TikTok’s recent release of safety data for West Africa at its 2025 Safety Summit in Dakar. The company said it acted against more than 2.3 million LIVE sessions and over 1 million creators globally in the second quarter of 2025 for violating monetisation rules. Nigeria alone accounted for 49,512 banned LIVE sessions in the same period.
TikTok also disclosed that 3,780,426 Nigerian videos were removed between April and June 2025 for breaching Community Guidelines, with 98.7 percent taken down before receiving any views and 91.9 percent removed within 24 hours.
TikTok LIVE remains a widely used feature among young Nigerians due to its real-time interaction and gifting options. To access the feature, creators must be at least 16 years old — and 18 to earn money — with a minimum of 1,000 followers.
