A section of Members of Parliament (MPs) have renewed calls to regulate social media platform, TikTok from concerns raised over data privacy, mental health and the platform’s influence on young users.
During National Assembly session on the afternoon of Tuesday 17th February 2026 the chairperson of the public petitions committee and Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi Karemba submitted a report on a petition by one Bob Ndolo recommending the regulation of the popular social media platform.
“The petitioner decried that while Tiktok has gained popularity among young people in Kenya, the content that was being shared on the platform was inappropriate, thus promoting violence, explicit sexual content, hate speech, vulgar language and offensive behavior which was a serious threat to the cultural and religious values in Kenya,’’ Karemba informed the House.
Ndolo, Executive Officer of Bridget Connect Consultancy, had filed the petition in August 17, 2023 seeking the banning of Tiktok but later sought for regulation of the social media platform.
In the report, Karemba stated the committee found it appropriate to have a setting up of local infrastructure for data security by the platforms, the Communication Authority of Kenya regulates social media and that the Ministry of ICT monitor all social media platforms in the country including Tiktok.
Besides these, the committee recommends training of the AI moderation system in local languages and that all TikTok and other social media platforms introduce monetization policy to enable content creators earn directly from their content.
In support of the regulation, Ruaraka MP Tom Joseph Kajwang’ emphasized Parliament’s constitutional mandate to oversee matters affecting citizens, including digital platforms.
Kajwang said, “When you saw young people here who came to taste the food we had there and said that the pili-pili was not good enough, you could see some of the issues which they were raising and how they organized themselves and how robustly they debated. There was a disconnect between the leaders and the young people because the communication platform was not even.”
The regulation of TikTok debate in the House postdates the social platform’s announcement that it had intensified its efforts to police content in Kenya, resulting in the removal of more than 580,000 videos between July and September 2025 for violating its Community Guidelines.
The scrutiny on TikTok follows the findings of an EU Preliminary Investigation that found the platform in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) for features like infinite scrolling, auto play, and highly personalized recommender systems that reduced users’ self-control and hampered the mental well-being of minors.
