Mogadishu(Mogadishu24)-Tiktok management has strongly denied allegations of promoting and spreading explicit content, hate speech, indecent behaviours, and extremist propaganda – activities that are against Somalia’s law and religious values.

The popular video-sharing platform stated that it is committed to enhancing use safety, and empower users to freely showcase their creativity, connect with others and express themselves in a safe environment.

“We’re proud to have implemented the Community Guidelines refresh, offering our community much more transparency about our rules and how we enforce them. It takes a whole village to keep people safe online, so we’re grateful to everyone in the TikTok community and to all of the external experts who have contributed and continue to help us advance our rules and stay a step ahead of emerging threats,” Kevin Morgan, Head of Trust & Safety.

The platform stated that it has taken down over 280,000 videos in Somalia that have violated its guidelines.

“In Somalia, our team removed over 280,000 videos during the same period that violated its guidelines. Impressively, we detected and removed 98.7% of these violating videos before they were reported. Our proactive approach showcases our commitment to maintaining a safe and compliant platform for our users,” stated the statement from Tiktok.

This response follows the Federal Government of Somalia’s recent decision to enforce bans on TikTok, 1Xbet, and Telegram applications within its jurisdiction. The government’s move is in response to concerns about the escalating prevalence of indecent activities among Somali youth.

In a statement released on Sunday evening, the Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology claimed that these applications propagate explicit content, hate speech, indecent behaviors, and extremist propaganda – actions that run afoul of Somalia’s legal standards and religious principles.

The Ministry issued a directive to telecommunication companies and internet service providers, mandating the disabling of access to these applications and associated sites.

“The Minister of Telecommunications and Technology orders the ban of the following applications due to the threats they pose to the community by spreading terrorist propaganda, promoting explicit content, and disseminating rumors and misinformation. These applications are Tiktok, 1Xbet, and Telegram,” the statement clarified.

The Government has ordered all the telecommunication companies and internet service providers to enforce the closure of access to these applications by Thursday, August 24th. Failure to adhere will result in legal actions being taken.