TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has revealed plans to establish an office in Kenya to oversee and manage the app’s operations across the continent.
As earlier announced by President William Ruto, Chew held a virtual meeting with the Kenyan Head of State Thursday. It was agreed that the short-form video hosting service would work with Kenya in reviewing and monitoring its content.
The move, President William Ruto said, will ensure that content on the platform adheres to agreed guidelines.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew committed to ensuring that content is moderated to fit community standards.
This new development means that inappropriate or offensive content will be expunged from the platform.
During the meeting, Mr Chew also pledged to hire more Kenyans to work for the platform.
This comes just days after a Kenyan presented a petition in Parliament seeking to ban TikTok in Kenya.
On Tuesday, August 15, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula confirmed receipt of the petition by the CEO of Bridget Connect Consultancy, Bob Ndolo.
The petitioner argued that although TikTok has gained popularity among the youth in the country, the content shared on the platform is unsuitable, promoting violence, explicit sexual content, hate speech, vulgar language, and offensive behaviors.
Ndolo pointed out that internet in Kenya lacks regulation by the Communications Authority of Kenya, making it challenging to control the content uploaded on TikTok effectively.
He cautioned that unless TikTok is banned in Kenya, its addictive qualities could result in a decline in academic performance and increased mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and sleep deprivation among Kenyan youth.
