Following a BBC report that accused social media giant TikTok of racking up profits from sexually explicit content involving minors, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) announced that it launched a crackdown and called for accountability from the Chinese-owned company.
In a statement on Thursday, March 6, CAK CEO David Mugonyi asserted that the authority will not hesitate to issue sanctions to TikTok if the said allegations by the report are found to be substantial.
Mugonyi noted that the Authority directed TikTok to pull down any sexual content involving minors on the platform including on livestreams.
"The report alleges the involvement of minors in the sale of sexual content via live stream on TikTok, with the platform reportedly retaining a significant commission from the content," he stated.
"These allegations raise serious issues regarding the exploitation of vulnerable individuals, including children, and the adequacy of content moderation on digital platforms operating within Kenya," he stated.
Furthermore, TikTok will be required to explain how offensive content can bypass its content moderation mechanisms, despite its vowing to reinforce its regulatory oversight and establish a local office to coordinate operations in the country.
"TikTok must also present a plan to show how they intend to enhance these mechanisms to strengthen child protection and prevent exploitation of minors on the platform, and demonstrate compliance with Kenya and International law," he stated.
The CEO, however, assured that the government will be keen to educate parents and guardians on Child online protection and the safe use of digital platforms in addition to promoting the use of parental control tools and safe internet usage practices.
Furthermore, acknowledging the laws put in place to address child online protection in the country, the CEO has called upon other online service providers in the country to adhere to the legal and regulatory requirements in the country to prevent the dispensation of harmful content.
This comes a month after TikTok disclosed that it deleted over 334,000 videos from its platform during the third quarter of last year for allegedly violating its community guidelines in the country.
According to TikTok, the reason for the removal of the videos from its platform included content that lacked integrity and authenticity and those that infringed on mental and behavioral health.
Other reasons for the removal of the videos included the sharing of content that infringed on youth safety and well-being and sensitive videos that displayed mature themes.
The video-sharing platform further revealed that it was building a platform where Kenyans can safely create, connect, and be entertained by investing in advanced technologies, trust and safety teams, and local partnerships.
