TikTok Publishes First Report on EU Hate Speech Removal

TikTok has released its first transparency report under the EU Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online. The report, published on April 10th, details the platform’s efforts to detect and remove hate speech in compliance with the EU Digital Services Act.

In the second half of 2025, TikTok received 56,549 user reports related to illegal hate speech, covering 30,128 unique pieces of content across videos, live streams, comments, ads, and product listings. The company reported a median response time of 3.05 hours for these reports.

According to the data, 88.7% of user-flagged content was reviewed within 24 hours. Additionally, 96.3% of the content ultimately removed for violating hate speech rules was taken down before any user report was filed. TikTok uses a combination of tools for enforcement, including computer vision models to identify hate-related symbols, audio detection for matching known violations, and text analysis.

The platform also highlighted partnerships with organizations such as the International Network Against Cyber Hate, DigiQ, and Point de Contact. In 2025, TikTok joined the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to strengthen its moderation capabilities.

The report forms part of TikTok’s broader obligations under the EU Digital Services Act, which aims to increase transparency and accountability for large online platforms operating in Europe. Future reports are likely, and seeing potential changes in the data could be an interesting look into how effective the platform’s moderation methods are.