CS Kindiki Issues Way Forward on Banning TikTok in Kenya.
CS Kindiki Issues Way Forward on Banning TikTok in Kenya: Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Thursday, March 21, revealed that the government has written to TikTok explaining that it is not satisfied with their level of compliance with Kenyan laws.
Appearing before the Public Petitions Committee, Kindiki noted that ByteDance Limited, a Chinese multi-billion company that owns TikTok would be required to respond to the letter, failure to which his ministry would take administrative action.
He however, expressed that it will be inconsiderate to ban the App in Kenya, citing the number of people making a living through it.
Kindiki stated,” I don’t think we’re in a position to declare the dangers outweigh the benefits. It’s a bit premature. We should work out a program where we have a policy that is evidence-based to assess whether the risks are more prominent than the benefits,”
“It will be premature. What we’re doing right now is a procedural requirement by law. Whatever the measures the government will take is administrative action and there’s a procedure including listening to those affected,” he added.
Kindiki reiterated that criminals capitalise on platforms such as TikTok to spread their message and the damage will be irreversible if no action is taken.
Kindiki stated,” All the social media platforms including TikTok have now become a real theatre for misuse by criminals to endanger public safety and security,”
“Tiktok and other social media platforms are increasingly being used to spread malicious content which is illegal, they are also being used to generate propaganda, including propaganda for war,” he added.
The CS Further underscored that all measures are being considered in his ministry and a comprehensive analysis would be carried out before any action is taken.
Kindiki stated,”Our Ministry coordinates the cybersecurity program of the country. Going forward, we should invest in internal security and defense arrangements but we need both military and internal security expertise to provide the fourth arm of our country’s defence and that is cyberspace. The potential to hurt the country through cyberspace is big,”
“Let’s not only look at quick fixes but have a long-term comprehensive plan and help the country from not banning TikTok,” he added.
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