Parliament petitioned to ban TikTok

Bridget Connect Consultancy petitions National Assembly (Parliament) to ban the social media platform TikTok in Kenya

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula revealed on Tuesday that Bob Ndolo, the CEO of Bridget Connect Consultancy, had presented the petition to ban TikTok due to content on the platform.

The social media network, according to the petitioner, encourages youth to engage in inappropriate behavior, hate speech, violence, and explicit sexual content.

He has also expressed concern that the site is not being properly regulated by the Communications Authority (CA) and that things are out of control.

Ndolo contends further that the absence of regulation and the addictive nature of the app may cause a fall in academic performance and an increase in mental health problems among young people in the nation.

The petitioner claimed that without users’ permission, TikTok collects a sizable quantity of data about its users, including information about their devices, locations, and browsing histories.

He also brought out earlier instances in which the platform was at the center of international controversy for unjustly acquiring user data.

“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,” read part of the petition.

Former IEBC commissioners Cherera and Masit forced to exile in US; Raila

Uganda accuses Kenyans of rushing to take Ugandan IDs to influence its next general elections

Kuccps extends deadline for inter-university transfers

Police respond to claims of Raila-IG Koome peace talks

Commonwealth election observer group issues an appeal to Kenya over corrupt leaders

Wetangula has directed the Public Petitions Committee to consider the petition and present a report on the findings to the House.

However, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has suggested it would be impossible to ban the platform in Kenya.

He added that a complete ban on TikTok would result in thousands of young Kenyans losing their livelihoods.

The Kikuyu MP has advised the CEO to petition for the regulation of the platform including the age limit and the content.

He has also suggested fines for anyone who shares explicit content.

His sentiment was backed by Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi who explained that banning the app would be disregarding the digital age.

Also read,