A public petition in the National Assembly seeking to ban social media application TikTok has elicited mixed reactions among the Members of Parliament.
According to the petitioner, CEO of Bridget Connect Consultancy, Bob Ndolo, the lawmakers should ban TikTok since it exposes young people to explicit content.
Further, Ndolo argues that even though TikTok has gained popularity in Kenya, the content shared on the platform promotes sexual content, violence, hate speech and offensive language.
According to Ndolo, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) does not regulate the internet in Kenya, this makes it difficult to control the content shared on Tiktok.
“The petitioner alleges that TikTok collects a significant amount of data on its users including information about their device, location and browsing history and sharing with third-party companies without users’ consent,” stated Speaker Moses Wetangúla while presenting the petition.
TikTok Debate
While ventilating on the matter, Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah opposed the banning of TikTok but instead called for regulation.
Further, Ichungwah explained that Kenya cannot fight technology adding that a committee should look at ways to regulate the use of social media apps.
“Many of us, including myself are on TikTok, unashamedly and there’s nothing criminal or evil being on TikTok.
As much as I feel what Ndolo says, there could be an element of abuse of these apps. But we cannot as a House preside over the ban of any app. We cannot fight with technology,” argued Ichung’wah.
In addition, Ichungwah said there are plans to commercialize TikTok and create job opportunities for the youth.
“Infact around the country its part of the government efforts to establish studios where the youth in the villages can have studios to create videos for use on all these apps,” he said.
Minority Leader and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi also advocated for regulation of TikTok arguing that it provides a source of income and revenue for the government.
“I am of the view that in this digital age, we cannot as a country afford to live in isolation or operate from some island therefore it will be foolhardy to contemplate banning any other app,” he said.
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Further, Wandayi explained that social media platforms provide employment opportunities to the youth, especially for those who can create content.
Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie opposed the petition stating that access of content is an individual responsibility and TikTok is not to blame for such problems.
“Parliament cannot go to the houses of individuals to switch off TikTok because the children are misusing it, it’s the parents and churches to teach the children about morality,” he said.
TikTok Addiction
Ndhiwa MP Martin Owino argued that MPs can neither debate on morals nor provide environment for TikTok to thrive hence there should be a careful balance while handling the issue.
Owino urged the government to create an environment for responsible usage.
Also, he stressed the need for careful consideration and proper control to protect children while allowing access to technology.
“As much as the advantages are being thrown here and there, children who are not supervised well spend more time on the app and fail their exams. The addictive elements are also worrying,” he said.
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Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina argued that MPs cannot ban TikTok but can regulate it since there is a high unemployment rate in the country especially among the young people who create content on social media.
According to nominated MP Irene Mayaka said the banning the usage of TikTok in Kenya will not solve the problems raised by the petitioner.
Mayaka explained that with applications such as the Virtual Private Network (VPN), one can still watch the content in apps available in other countries.
The Public Petitions Committee of the house was tasked with investigating TikTok by the Speaker. The group has 60 days to report, and depending on its recommendations, the matter will be debated or dismissed.
