Kenya Considering Ban on TikTok‍ as US Pushes for WorldCoin Return

The Kenyan government is considering a partial ban on the use of the popular social media platform, TikTok. 

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki on Thursday, March 22, told Parliament that the government had expressed concern to the Chinese-owned TikTok, over the handling of private data on the platform. 

He added that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently discussing ways of limiting its usage among government officials, fearing that sensitive data was likely to be lost through the use of the video-based platform. 

“The question about TikTok is a very complex matter. The question of who to allow and who not to allow on this platform is before the National Security Council. ” the CS stated. 

Kindiki added that the government believes that TikTok has not been compliant with Kenya’s data protection laws, but had given the owners of the platform to demonstrate this compliance and further indicate what they will be doing, in the future, to enhance data privacy. 

“The Government, through the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, has contacted the owners of TikTok and sought to ascertain the level of compliance to ensure the privacy of individuals is respected. At the moment, we are not satisfied that there is compliance from Tiktok in ensuring the privacy of individuals is protected," he shared.

The CS spoke before a parliamentary committee that is considering a petition from a Kenyan citizen, Bob Ndolo, who wants a complete ban on the popular social media platform. 

He, however, indicated that the government would have to weigh the benefits and balance them with the disadvantages of a complete ban, saying that would be determined after exploring ways of managing the negative elements.

During the appearance before the National Assembly’s Committee on Public Petitions, Kindiki also shared an update on the ban on WorldCoin, an American cryptocurrency firm. 

The Interior CS intimated that the US had been pushing the Kenyan government to reinstate WorldCoin, which his ministry suspended in August 2023, over concerns over the collection of biometric data from Kenyans - including scans of the iris. 

“The American government has been pushing the government on the issues of WorldCoin, but we have remained adamant and firm.

“The US thinks that WorldCoin still has a case to set up its activities here. We have remained adamant and the decision we took will remain. We are not going to review the suspension,” the CS declared.