Kenyan CEO wants TikTok banned

By Peter Ochieng

A Kenyan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) wants popular social media application, TikTok banned in the country.

Bob Ndolo, Bridget Connect Consultancy CEO in his petition to National Assembly argues that the explicit content in TikTok promotes violence, sex, hate speech and vulgarity which undermines the cultural and religious values of Kenyans.

Speaker Moses Wetang'ula read sections of the petition in Parliament on Tuesday, as such:

“The petition decries that while it has gained popularity among the youths in Kenya, the content that is being shared on the platform is inappropriate thus promoting violence, explicit sexual content, hate speech, vulgar language, and offensive behavior which is a serious threat to the cultural and religious views of Kenya."

“The petitioner is also concerned that if the platform is not prohibited in Kenya, the Apps addictive nature will lead to a decline in academic performances and ascend in mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation among the youth," he said.

Ndolo sought intervention of the National Assembly, owing to what he terms as Communication Authority's inability to regulate, remove or block inappropriate content on the Chinese owned App.

He says the App has been banned or fined in various countries among them United States for breach of privacy laws.

"TikTok has been implicated in several privacy scandals over the past years. For instance, in 2019, the app was fined $5.7 million by the USA Federal Trade Commission for illegally collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 by collecting data such as names, email addresses, and locations from young users without their parents consent thus violating Children's Online Privacy Protection Act."

Speaker Wetang'ula directed the National Assembly's Public Petitions Committee, to consider the petition and report its findings.