TikTok has agreed to average content material on its app in Kenya, the nation’s presidency mentioned Thursday 24 August 2023, days after parliament obtained a petition to ban the favored video-sharing platform.
TikTok, owned by Chinese language expertise large ByteDance, is going through intense scrutiny internationally as a consequence of privateness and safety issues.
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“Quick-form video internet hosting service TikTok will work with Kenya in reviewing and monitoring its content material,” President William Ruto’s workplace mentioned in an announcement after a name with TikTok chief government Shou Zi Chew.
“This new improvement implies that inappropriate or offensive content material will probably be expunged from the platform,” it added. Ruto additionally mentioned on social media that Chew had agreed to arrange an workplace in Kenya to “coordinate” TikTok’s operation in Africa.
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No additional particulars got on the association or when the Kenyan workplace would start operations. Thursday’s announcement comes barely ten days after Kenyan legislators obtained a petition from a non-public citizen demanding that TikTok be banned within the East African nation for selling obscenity.
Does TikTok share inappropriate content material?
“The petitioner decries that whereas it has gained reputation among the many youth, the content material that’s being shared on the platform is inappropriate, thus selling violence, specific sexual content material, hate speech,” parliament speaker Moses Wetangula mentioned on the time.
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Parliament is because of examine the usage of TikTok in Kenya, and a choice is anticipated in about two months. Because of its enhancing options and an AI-powered algorithm, TikTok is fashionable, particularly with youthful audiences, and has over one billion customers.
It has come beneath fierce Western scrutiny over its ties to China, however the firm denies it’s beneath Beijing’s tutelage. This month, it introduced modifications to fulfill strict EU guidelines, together with permitting European customers to show off “personalisation” — a function that encourages folks to maintain watching movies by suggesting content material primarily based on their private pursuits.
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Somalia’s authorities in the meantime introduced on Sunday it was banning the platform from being utilized by terrorists to unfold propaganda.
ho/txw/ri© Agence France-Presse
