It appears you’ve provided a news article or a piece of information regarding President William Ruto’s intention to speak with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about the moderation of explicit content on the platform. The article discusses President Ruto’s plans to address the issue of inappropriate content on TikTok, which has led to a petition in the Kenyan parliament seeking to ban the platform due to concerns about explicit content exposure to young people.
President Ruto mentions that he aims to discuss with TikTok’s global CEO a mechanism for better content moderation to eliminate negative content from the platform. The petition, submitted by Bridget Connect Consultancy’s Executive Officer Bob Ndolo, asserts that TikTok features inappropriate content that promotes violence, sex, hate speech, vulgar language, and offensive behavior, posing a threat to cultural and religious values.
The reception to the petition among legislators is mixed. Some argue against a complete ban on TikTok, highlighting that the platform has generated job opportunities for the youth in content creation. Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah suggests that rather than an outright ban, regulation and age-appropriate content guidelines might be more suitable.
The National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee has been directed to assess the petition and present its findings by October. Additionally, ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has indicated plans to regulate TikTok’s usage, particularly during nighttime, citing concerns about illegal activities taking place during those hours.
This situation reflects an ongoing discussion about the role of social media platforms in hosting and moderating content, as well as the challenges of balancing freedom of expression with protecting users, particularly young individuals, from potentially harmful content.