The Speaker of Kenya’s Parliament has received a petition calling for TikTok to be banned in the country for encouraging “inappropriate” behaviour and sharing information about its users with a third-party company without their consent.
Speaker Moses Wetang’ula stated that petitioner Bob Ndolo, a private citizen, had written to parliament requesting that it intervene and take immediate action to protect Kenyans from the negative effects of Tik Tok.
“The petitioner has decried that the content shared on the social media platform is inappropriate and promotes violence, vulgar language, explicit sexual content, and hate speech, which is a serious threat to Kenya’s cultural and religious values,” the Speaker said, reading from a statement received from the petitioner.
“The platform has shared information about its users with a third-party company without the consent of the users,” the petitioner claimed.
The petitioner, who did not provide evidence to support his claim that TikTok shared its users’ data with third parties, claimed that if TikTok is not banned in Kenya, its addictive nature will have a negative impact on the youth.
“The petitioner wants the House to intervene and take immediate action to protect Kenyans from the negative effects of TikTok,” said the Speaker, who urged lawmakers to debate and investigate TikTok’s use in the East African nation.
Both Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, who represent opposing coalitions, stated that they saw nothing wrong with TikTok’s presence in Kenya.
They stated that it would be preferable to regulate the app rather than ban it because it has provided a platform for many people to create content and earn a living.
The Speaker charged the House’s Public Petitions Committee with investigating TikTok. The group has 60 days to report, and the matter will be debated or dismissed based on its recommendations.
The app, which has over 1 billion users worldwide, is also facing bans in key markets such as the United States and the European Union due to concerns about its data protection practises.
