Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has said the ban on pornographic websites in Kenya should be expedited.
While speaking during the opening ceremony of the Kenya Music Festival in Kisumu on Monday, September 19 the CS stated that while the Internet has proven useful, the downside of the interwebs must also be addressed.
“In as much as we enjoy the freedom of everything including the internet, the pornographic sites centers must be blocked as soon as yesterday,” Magoha added.
Moreover, the CS claimed he is not concerned about being labeled a dictator for opposing websites that promote racy content.
“When I mentioned this, they said no, you are a dictator but as far as pornography is concerned, I want to remain as dictator in everyone’s mind,” Magoha added.
Furthermore, Magoha urged Kenyans to support his proposal to block websites that stream adult content, to keep children safe online.
According to Magoha, censoring the internet for children is not dictatorship but responsibility.
“You do not want your children who are going to primary school to know all types and positions of having sex …. for what purpose? The CS posed.
Likewise, the Education CS reported that in June 2020 he lobbied the cabinet and the President to have pornographic websites blocked.
Moreover, he blamed them for the high rate of teenage pregnancies.
“You see when you are not thinking about sex, but someone opens a pornographic page then you start thinking about it and generating ideas. Why is that site accessible in Kenya? Who needs it?” Magoha asked.
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Nonetheless, a June National Plan of Action to Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) report, noted that 55% of Kenya’s 21.9 million children have widespread access to pornography and are vulnerable to exploitation.
Moreover, according to the findings of the State Department of Social Protection, Senior Citizens Affairs, and Special Programs as well as UNICEF, children are widely involved in online dating but do not consider it abuse because no physical contact occurs.