William Ruto, the President of Kenya, is planning to meet with the Global CEO of TikTok on Thursday morning according to a statement released in Nakuru.
According to his speech, his aim is to address the moderation of TikTok as it is on YouTube and Twitter. Additionally, he plans to address the possible monetization policy from the application.
“… so that we can agree on a mechanism to moderate content in the space so that we can reduce the content that is negative,” he said in his speech.
The need for the address with the TikTok CEO comes after a petition was filed in court to ban TikTok. The reason for the petition was the propagation of explicit content. There have been alarms raised over the application not having any form of regulation on the content posted.
Prior to the petition, a discovery was made on what happens on TikTok live at night. Many young people on the platform share explicit content in the middle of the night which perverts the minds of those watching or using the platform.
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During the discussions in Parliament, many were for the idea of banning the application altogether and not having to regulate it. Kimani Ichung’wah on the other hand, mentioned that it would be better to regulate the application instead of deleting it. In his statement, he mentioned that there were people who depended on the application as a source of living.
TikTok has not only raised alarms in Kenya but also in other countries. Somalia banned the application alongside Telegram and 1xBet. The reason for their ban was that the Al-Shabab were using the app to send immoral content to the citizens in the country.
Read Also: Somalia Issues ban on TikTok and Telegram
Furthermore, some states in the United States are contemplating banning the app in its entirety or just placing restrictions on its use.
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Response to Banning TikTok
The President’s consultation is equally meant to include the possibilities around monetization through the application. This statement has been met with controversy by the citizens.
The comment above is by a citizen of Kenya responding to the message issued by the President in Nakuru. According to Gabriel Ogunda, Ruto told Elon Musk to pay citizens who posted content on Twitter.
Here in Kenya, the possible ban of TikTok has raised many eyebrows not only with the lawmakers but also with the citizens. The majority of citizens above 40 years of age are more for the idea of banning the application entirely. Gen Z on the other hand, are not against it due to the fact that most get a source of income through the platform.
His statement has sparked multiple conversations around the country concerning his promise. Some mentioned that this was just one of the many promises made by his administration that they are yet to see. Others are optimistic about the possibility of the application being regulated instead of banned. A few are still persistent on the idea of banning the app altogether and therefore, don’t see any need for the president to have a conversation with the CEO of Tiktok for regulation purposes.
Read Also: Controversy Surrounds TikTok Ban Petition in Kenya
