• The petition which has many critics will be considered by the committee that will give its verdict after 60 days of careful considerations.

In a petition to the National Assembly on Tuesday, the Executive Officer of Bridget Connect Consultancy, Bob Ndolo, called on MPs to move quickly and ban Tik Tok in the country as it exposes young people to explicit sexual content.

This comes after several TikTokers have been reported to show their nudes or nakedness on live shows on TikTok while speaking to their fans, while others post content that is not good for children who are now exposed to social media sites.

Just a month ago, a TikToker named Brian Chira trended on Twitter for insulting Azziad Nasenya, a fellow TikToker. The TikToker, who has made a name in the industry, did not spare him at all costs and decided to involve the corridors of justice for defamation and interference with the image of her brand.

With that being reported, Chira still went ahead to insult other celebrities who have not taken action yet, but his actions are some of the reasons that might trigger the ban of TikTok in Kenya.

But let us take a turn at it. The music industry has grown tremendously due to the fame of TikTok, with trends creating traffic for their music all over. Talents like dancing have also evolved with the youth gaining popularity resulting in income generation, helping them manoeuvre through this economic hardship and high unemployment rates.

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While commenting on the petition, Kimani Ichung’wah, National Assembly majority leader, said Parliament cannot preside over banning the app since it has created employment for most young people.

He further went on to advise the petitioner, stating that he should consider coming to seek on how to regulate the usage of the app, age group and content uploaded for a certain age to watch, but outright banning would be killing the careers of many young people who are earning a living through it.

The petition was also not received well by other Members of Parliament, who, on the other hand, urged parents to monitor what their children consume on social media.

Others went on to state that the user is to blame for the content they expose themselves to, urging the Parliament and other shareholders that there is a need for careful balancing in handling the matter.

The petition has many critics and will be considered by the committee that will give its verdict after 60 days of careful consideration.