Kabogo vows to regulate social media

ICT and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary nominee William Kabogo says his first task if confirmed would be to regulate social media.

Kabogo who spoke on Tuesday during his vetting at County Hall highlighted the dangers of misuse of the internet including an increase in pornographic content and hate speech among popular applications such as Facebook, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

He regretted the existing freedom by some of the owners of the social apps in the country which he said was now affecting children due to a lack of laws limiting access to such explicit content.

The former Kiambu governor thus affirmed that immediately after assuming office, he would direct the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) and engage all other stakeholders to restrict content by some of the apps and control how Kenyans use the platforms.

“On the issue of hate speech and harmful content, this is a matter of every country having its own regulations. It is true that when you look at TikTok, Facebook, and X, you will find all sorts of pornography even available to children. This is a situation where our regulator should be able to engage these pro-writers or the owners of these apps to know how they can be regulated,” he said.

“My first directive to CA is to be able to know how this can be regulated. We have technical people who have experience with how these things can be done. I should be able to sit with them on my first day or second day in office to make sure that there is a direct or clear way to deal with this problem.”

Kabogo insists that Kenyans should endeavour to strike a balance between freedom of expression and ethical use of the internet. 

Consequently, Kabogo proposed banning individuals found misusing and abusing social media, adding that under his leadership, he would sensitize the youth on the responsible use of social media and its tools to ensure that they understand the consequences of their actions.

This, he said, would deter others seeking to engage in such vices. 

He also said he would engage Kenyan youth online in a bid to push for responsible use of social media platforms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) if approved for appointment to the position.

“We should be thinking about engaging the younger generation, the Gen Zs and millennials, on how to have to have ethical use of the internet space. Because today they may be Gen Zs, but in a couple of years, they will be fathers, and the engagement should be such that if you put Kabogo in a coffin, as is the case now, but one time they will be fathers like me, how would they feel when their father is put in a coffin?” He posed.