Kenya Urges Oversight, Not Ban, on TikTok Amid Concerns of Content – Stricter Regulations Proposed

Kenya’s government has advised lawmakers against banning TikTok due to concerns about content shared on the platform. Instead, the ministry recommends stricter oversight by regulators.

The interior ministry accuses the platform of spreading propaganda, fraud, and distributing sexual content. The ministry proposes adopting a co-regulation model, requiring TikTok to share content that ensures compliance with Kenyan laws. The East African nation also requests quarterly reports on material taken down by the Chinese platform.

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced regulatory scrutiny in several countries, particularly in the West. The U.S. Senate approved legislation that would lead to a nationwide ban of TikTok if ByteDance fails to divest over the next nine months to a year. The move was driven by widespread worries among lawmakers that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them with the app.