Rumors Erupts as TikTok allegedly bans Nigerians from going live at night

Today, reports began circulating across Nigerian social-media circles claiming that TikTok has imposed a temporary ban preventing Nigerians from using its “LIVE” feature at night. According to one recent article, the restriction goes into effect daily between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am.

The story caused panic among many users in Nigeria: people frightened that they could no longer host or even watch live streams after 11 pm. According to those sharing the update, the “ban” doesn’t only stop Nigerians from going live — it reportedly also prevents them from viewing live broadcasts from other countries.

But before you ring alarm bells, it’s important to ask: how much of this is verified? So far, aside from this fresh news report, there is no official statement from TikTok confirming that it has rolled out a nationwide “night-time live ban” for Nigerian users.

What we do know is this: in 2025, TikTok has intensified enforcement of its content- and live-streaming policies in Nigeria. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the platform removed over 3.6 million videos posted from Nigeria for violating its guidelines — a 50 % increase over the previous quarter. As part of that crackdown, TikTok banned 42,196 live rooms in Nigeria and interrupted 48,156 streams for guideline violations during that same quarter.

This aggressive enforcement suggests TikTok is tightening control over LIVE content in Nigeria — but that doesn’t necessarily equate to an around-the-clock ban on night streaming. Indeed, according to the 2025 enforcement report, the emphasis was on content violations (for example, “offensive content,” “monetisation guideline breaches,” or live-stream misconduct) rather than a blanket temporary curfew on live streaming.

Nevertheless, the new “night-ban” story isn’t isolated. Multiple users (globally) — especially those reliant on live streaming — have recently reported restrictions, shadow bans, or unexplained drops in visibility when going live during certain hours. On one Reddit thread, a user explained:

> “Then, I got a live restriction due to ‘inauthentic gift request,’ followed by a live ban because of an age confirmation issue … after a few days, my live streams are completely dead.”

Others report sudden live access revocations, or raise concerns about “unoriginal content” flags and the near-impossibility of obtaining support even after repeated appeals.

It’s possible — though not confirmed — that this “night-ban” narrative stems from localized, temporary restrictions, algorithmic quirks, or misconfiguration tied to live content moderation. Perhaps certain Nigerian accounts were flagged for past violations, leading to live-stream interruptions that coincidentally happened at night. Or maybe there was a technical issue causing a temporary nationwide live blackout — which quickly spread as a rumor.

Given the lack of official confirmation from TikTok (or a second, independent report), one must treat the claim with skepticism: it's plausible but not verified.

For now, TikTok’s own publicly released enforcement data shows that the company is clamping down harder on guideline violations — especially around LIVE and monetisation — but does not explicitly mention a time-based ban for Nigerian users.