TikTok Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shou Zi Chew has agreed to set up office in Kenya to ease coordination of operations on the app.
The resolution followed a meeting with President William Ruto on Thursday morning. Cabinet Secretary (CS) of Trade and Industrialisation Moses Kuria was also in attendance.
“TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew committed to ensuring that content is moderated to fit community standards.
This new development means that inappropriate or offensive content will be expunged from the platform,” read part of a statement from State House.
Ruto on Wednesday announced he would be holding a discussion with the app’s CEO following an uproar over obscene content displayed on the app, which the youth are fond of.
Petition to ban TikTok
This comes against the backdrop of a petition in Parliament on whether or not to ban TikTok in Kenya.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula received the petition from Bob Ndolo, CEO of Bridget Connect Consultancy on August 16, 2023 asking to have the platform banned in Kenya.
Legislators appeared divided on the matter which sparked a lively debate in the House.
Mumias East MP Peter Salasya, who is active on the app, opposed the petition saying it has provided a source of income for the unemployed youth.
“I have thousands of followers on TikTok and I also get some money from it.
My fellow MPs achaneni na hii mambo ya TikTok,” he said.
Employment Opportunities
TikTok CEO Chew pledged to hire more Kenyans to work for the platform, which is a step in the right direction to address the high rate of unemployment in the country.
Somalia became the recent country to ban the app over the spread of ‘indecent/adult’ content.
