The TikTok smartphone application (app) took the Kenyan social media landscape by storm. The platform is used as a short-form video smartphone app and had surpassed 1.5 billion downloads as of October 2019 (TikTok Joins Nairobi Garage, 2020). Users upload short-form videos that span a variety of themes such as comedy skits, music performance and virtual education.
Within six years of its international launch, Kenyan users accounted for the highest user base of the app globally with a notable 59 percent of the country’s population using the app (Newman et al., 2023). In addition to this, 29 percent of that user base utilize the app as their news source. This has contributed to the app becoming a space for political discourse including election campaigns, commentary on current affairs as well as political disinformation (Madung, 2022). It is imperative therefore to pay keen attention to the impact TikTok has had on the Kenyan electorate especially the youth as well as examine government policies around the app’s use.
The majority demographic of Kenya’s population is made of the youth aged 35 years and below. This is according to a report by the National Council for Population and Development published in 2017 that states that nearly 80 percent of the country’s population is under the age of 35 (Youth Bulge in Kenya: A Blessing or a Curse, 2017). It is possible to deduce that this is likewise the largest demographic on TikTok. They function as both content creators and consumers of the short form videos posted on the app. The youth use this avenue in various ways such as: for commerce in order buy or sell their products and services, to socialize online, for entertainment by way of music, dance, skits, educational videos for example do it yourself (DIY) tutorials and as a source of news for current affairs.
As mentioned before, TikTok’s use as a news source has enabled an environment rife with political commentary as the youth seek information regarding the leaders they vote into office and the policies that affect their livelihoods. This can be seen in the popularity of the hashtags #siasa and #siasazakenya garnering beyond 20 million views on the app. The most watched among those getting nearly a million views (Madung, 2022). As much as this can be a net good in keeping the youth informed, negative aspects of the app’s impact cannot be overlooked. Disinformation is a tactic employed in the political arena to mislead the voter or tarnish the reputation of an electoral rival. TikTok has, like its social media predecessors Facebook and Twitter, not been able to avoid the wave of disinformation campaigns in the fashion of the “Cambridge Analytica and Harris Media [disinformation] content that spread on Kenyan Facebook in 2017” (abstract section) (Madung, 2022). The impact this has is that hateful rhetoric is given a space to coalesce on the platform. Hate speech through the short form videos is rampant and creates tensions around election cycles for fear of ethnic violence. Irungu Houghton, the Executive Director at Amnesty international, said that “TikTok's demographic is much younger and it worries me because they don't have the levels of political maturity or a clear value base that may allow them to sift through such information,” (section 3, para. 6)(Madung, 2022) Measures are required of both the owners of the platform and the Kenyan government to moderate the content propagated on TikTok in an effort to protect the youth from harmful rhetoric.
The TikTok app sees an upturn for the Kenyan youth when in it provides them economic benefits. The upshot of the commercial use of the application is that content creators are able to earn directly from the app as remuneration for views garnered, brand collaborations or from their followers’ patronage (Ontomwa, 2023, 0:18). This provides incentives for more users to engage with the app since it offers an opportunity to bolster their livelihoods. In as long as the youth do not engage in the trade of illicit goods or services online, TikTok is an appealing tool to boost the country’s economy.
An aspect of TikTok that makes it precarious ground for its youthful user base are the controversies that arise when content created or shared contravenes the moral conventions of Kenyan society. Recently, in a trip paid for by Kenya's parliament, a Kenyan opposition Member of Parliament called George Peter Kaluma attended a meeting of the African Interparliamentary Forum on Family Values and Sovereignty. “The conference saw lawmakers, religious leaders and campaigners from more than 20 African states participate by sharing ideas on how to tackle what they see as threats to conservative religious and social values,” (Byaruhanga, 2023). Policy makers and conservative activists in the country have also sought to restrict the creation of content deemed lewd or immoral in the Kenyan purview. Bob Ndolo, a father of two and an Information Technology specialist, has filed a petition requesting Parliament to ban the TikTok app citing what he deems offensive content creation (Ontomwa, 2023, 0:50). Such content can also be harmful to users who are minors by Kenyan law as they are in their formative years in addition to being impressionable to inappropriate behavior online. Therefore, common ground must be found by all stakeholders involved in the regulation of digital content distribution on social media including: government policy makers, the Communication Council of Kenya, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance Company as well as concerned members of the general public through public participation in policy making.
It can be noted that the Kenyan government has made several attempts in a bid to regulate TikTok use in Kenya. In an address to the National Assembly’s Public Petitions committee, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Interior Prof Kindiki expressed that the National Security Council (NSC) he helms is deliberating on a ban to bar public officials from using TikTok so as to protect sensitive data. He told Parliament that the “NSC is dealing with the threats posed by social media platforms including TikTok,” further stating, “We as the National Police Service (NPS) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) are working with the Ministry of Defense and that of ICT to guard our cyberspace from internal and external threats,” (Mutai, 2024). His actions can be viewed as an effort to professionalize holders of public office and prevent matters of national security being available for consumption online.
This has not been the only incident of government getting involved in placing restrictions on the app. President Ruto held a virtual meeting with TikTok Chief Executive Officer, Shou Zi Chew, to ensure moderation of its content. In a statement on the Kenyan presidency's website (TikTok Agrees to Have Its Content Moderated in Kenya, Assures President Ruto, 2023), “TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew committed to ensuring that content is moderated to meet community standards." This illustrates that there is state interference on what the Kenyan youth may produce or consume while using the platform, the verdict is still out on whether this is an authoritarian move to control information or a genuine attempt to prevent the corruption of societal morals. Lastly, a National Police Service (NPS) officer was reprimanded and faced disciplinary action for criticizing Interior CS Kithure Kindiki on TikTok (Ajon, 2023). He is alleged to have ordered his highest ranking senior, CS Kindiki, to “go away” among other derogatory statements. In response, his employer the NPS condemned the video and the officer’s conduct decrying that it was not indicative of the organization’s value system. In a released statement, the institution relayed that the officer would face appropriate disciplinary action.
To sum it all up, TikTok since its proliferation into the Kenyan social media landscape can be deemed to be as much of a blessing and a curse. It has economically uplifted a significant portion of its youthful user base by exposing them to consumers of their content, products and services. On the flipside, the app has drawn much controversy over the lack of guardrails against what society may hold to be destructive influence. The platform owners have to be held accountable for the information dispersed in a particular market of operation from a multifaceted approach applied to the region’s cultural dynamics be it political disruption, offensive content, vulgar displays or divisive rhetoric. The Kenyan government also has a duty to safeguard a democratic space that protects freedom of speech, expression and assembly, as enshrined in the Kenyan constitution 2010, while also ensuring that dangerous influences on the app do not cause irreparable harm to Kenyan society.
REFERENCES
(1) Ajon, B. (2023, July 19). National Police Condemns Tik Tok Video of “Officer” Blasting Kithure Kindiki, to Face Disciplinary Action [News]. Tuko. https://www.tuko.co.ke/politics/514599-national-police-condemn-tiktok-video-officer-blasting-kithure-kindiki-face-disciplinary-action/
(2) Byaruhanga, C. (2023, July 18). LGBT rights in Africa: Will Kenya be the latest to pass anti-gay law? [News]. British Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66079603
(3) Madung, O. (2022). From Dance App to Political Mercenary: How disinformation on TikTok gaslights political tensions in Kenya [News]. Mozilla Foundation. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/campaigns/kenya-tiktok/
(4) Mutai, E. (2024, March 21). Why Kenya plans to ban public servants from using TikTok. Business Daily. https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/why-kenya-plans-to-ban-public-servants-from-using-tiktok--4564380
(5) Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Eddy, K., Robinson, C. T., & Nielsen, R. K. (2023). Reuters Institute digital news report 2023. https://doi.org/10.60625/RISJ-P6ES-HB13
(6) Ontomwa, F. (Director). (2023, September 14). TikTok Popular in Kenya, but Facing Backlash and Call for Ban. Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/tiktok-popular-in-kenya-but-facing-backlash-and-call-for-ban/7268219.html
(7) TikTok agrees to have its content moderated in Kenya, assures President Ruto. (2023, August 25). [News]. Africanews. Chinese social network TikTok has pledged to work with Kenyan authorities so that its content can be monitored and eventually removed, the presidency of the East African country, where a ban on the platform has been requested, said on Thursday.
(8) TikTok Joins Nairobi Garage. (2020, January 10). [Technology]. Nairobi Garage. https://nairobigarage.com/tiktok-joins-nairobi-garage/
(9) Youth Bulge in Kenya: A Blessing or a Curse (Policy Brief 56). (2017). National Council for Population and Development.
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