The Public Petitions Committee under the Leadership of Committee Vice Chairperson and Turbo MP, Hon. Janet Sitienei met with the Cabinet Secretary (CS) in the Ministry of ICT, Telecommunications and Digital Economy Mr. Eliud Owallo.
The CS, who had appeared in the company of his Principal Secretary, Eng. John Tanui and senior officers from the Office of Data Protection and those from the Communication Authority of Kenya, was before the Committee to give submissions on a Petition to ban the social media Platform Tiktok in the country.
CS Owallo in his submissions informed the committee that a total ban of the platform was not the best option of dealing with the underlying matters but instead proposed for the enactment of laws and regulations
“Honorable Members, a balance must be struck between addressing the legitimate concerns brought about by this petition and upholding citizens’ rights to express themselves. Tiktok serves as a diverse platform for expression, encompassing creativity, political commentary, and cultural representation,” stated CS Owallo.
CS Owallo instead advocated for the adopting of laws and regulations stating that a ban will only curtail the innovative space for local content creators, inhibiting competition and stifling innovation within the country’s digital realm.
“Regulation rather than a ban will enhance the positive aspects of competition, innovation, self-expression and the resulting benefits to the economy. As a Ministry, we are in the process of introducing proposed amendments that will cover new media through the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the newly proposed Kenya Information and Communications Broadcasting Regulations.” Added the CS.
The Members of the Committee were concerned with the Ministry’s position on the regulation of content on social media platforms as well as the benefit versus risk analysis of the platforms presence in the Country.
“Does the Ministry and specifically the Communication Authority (CA) have the internal capacity to moderate these social media platforms and do you vet the external moderators to make sure that they have the capacity to do the job right?” enquired Taveta MP, Hon. John Bwire.
“Is there a risk mitigation framework that will ensure that Tiktok and other platforms like it are engaged in CSR projects that can benefit Kenyans and counter the negative effects such as addiction and mental health issues?” Hon. Bwire further asked.
The appearance by the ICT CS brings an end to the Committees exercise of receiving submissions from the close to 20 different stakeholders who are concerned with the Petition filed by Mr. Bob Ndolo. The Committee will take into consideration of all the submissions received before drafting a final report that will be tabled before the House for debate.
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