Browsing: TikTok ban in Kenya

• Tiktok holds talks with content creators in Kenya on monetisation following the breach of a June 2024 offer to start making money via the platform.
• In December 2023, TikTok announced plans to launch a subscription model for content in Kenya in June 2024.
• According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 survey, Kenya leads the world in TikTok usage.

Kenyan content creators will wait a bit longer for direct monetisation of their content through TikTok, after the video-sharing platform breached an earlier offer to operationalise income-earning initiatives by June this year. In the latest development, the Chinese company revealed that it has just engaged in talks with Kenyan creators, who have been pushing multinational social media companies to find ways to compensate for the content they publish on the platforms.

Tiktok director of government relations & public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa Fortune Sibanda said that Kenyan creators will in …

• TikTok Community Guidelines will see introduction of stricter For You eligibility standards.
• Video sharing entity says this code emphasizes responsible behavior on and off the platform
• According to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News report 2023 survey, Kenya leads in world TikTok usage.

Popular video sharing platform TikTok, has unveiled significant updates to its Community Guidelines and introduced new features aimed at supporting creators and maintaining a safe environment for users. The platform’s Community Guidelines, which outline rules and standards for all users, have been updated to provide greater clarity and transparency.

These updates, set to take effect in a few weeks, include refined definitions for policies on hate speech and health misinformation. Additionally, TikTok has detailed how it moderates features like Search, LIVE, and the For You feed to ensure a positive user experience.

One of the key updates is the introduction of stricter For You eligibility standards. …

• TikTok’s Safer Together Workshops have attracted 116,355 attendees. 
• The social media platform has in the recent past had issues over safety in Kenya and around the world.
• According to TikTok, the initiative will involve availing educative videos on digital and internet safety on the platform.

Kenyan youth have joined TikTok’s Global Youth Council to engage with TikTok CEO Shou Chew on matters of digital safety as the video sharing app faces mounting pressure from governments across the world.

This collaboration comes as part of the social platforms ongoing efforts, in partnership with Eveminet, to promote a safer online environment through TikTok’s Safer Together Workshops. The trainings come amidst measures by some countries, including Kenya, that ban the use of the platform on government issued devices due to data safety concerns.

The TikTok’s Safer Together Workshops were officially launched in October 2023 with the goal of creating a safe and empowering …

• Kenya’s National Security Council is currently scrutinizing cybersecurity threats posed by TikTok.
• Lawmakers are citing data privacy, cybersecurity threats, and TikTok’s potential as a primary conduit for misinformation in their push to restrict its use in government-issued devices.
• Already, TikTok is accused of cases of abuses in Kenya, including identity theft, proliferation of fraud, and spreading sexually explicit content.

Authorities in Kenya are at a cybersecurity crossroads, contemplating joining Somalia to become the second African nation to enforce TikTok ban on government-issued devices.

This move, revealed by Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki cites rising cybersecurity threats posed by social media platforms, notably TikTok, within the corridors of Kenya’s National Security Council (NSC).

The NSC’s concerns are not unfounded. Globally, TikTok, a video-sharing platform, faces heightened scrutiny over data privacy, cybersecurity threats, and its potential as a primary conduit for misinformation.

Already, countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, and the …