A petition has been presented to the National Assembly seeking to ban the Chinese-owned app Tik Tok in Kenya.
Speaker Moses Wetang’ula Tuesday confirmed receiving the petition from Bob Ndolo, an executive officer of the Briget Connect Consultancy which he read on his behalf.
The petitioner who cites several reasons why the popular social media app is dangerous notes that the content shared is inappropriate claiming it promotes explicit content, violence, hate speech, vulgar language, and offensive behavior which is a ‘serious threat to the cultural and religious values of Kenya’.
He further decries that the internet application which is allegedly not regulated by the Communications Authority of Kenya is detrimental to the development of Kenyan children
Ndolo explains that because of its addictive nature, it will lead to a decline in academic performance and a rise in mental health problems among young people.
He avers that the platform has been implicated in several privacy of scandals over the years adding that the app is illegally collecting personal information from unsuspecting Kenyans.
TikTok has come under scrutiny from authorities around the world over concerns that data could be passed to the Chinese government.
The petitioner has urged the House to take immediate action to safeguard Kenyans from the negative effects and altogether ban TikTok in Kenya.
The speaker said the matter raised is within the authority of the house and hence committed the petition to the Public Petitions Committee for consideration.
It should report its findings to the house and the petitioner in accordance with standing orders 227(2).
Speaker @HonWetangula has read a petition on behalf of the Chief
Executive Officer of the Bridge
Connect Consultancy regarding the Banning of Tiktok in Kenya.The petitioner notes the content on TikTok as detrimental to the development of Kenyan children and the app is… pic.twitter.com/6vuXCsxjAG
— National Assembly KE (@NAssemblyKE) August 15, 2023
