Kenya’s ICT ministry has proposed amendments that would require social media companies, including Meta, TikTok and X, to report illegal activity on their platforms to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
The Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill 2026 would introduce a new Section 85C into the Kenya Information and Communications Act.
Content-sharing apps and other online platforms serving Kenyan users would be required to notify the CA of their details and services, and report unlawful activity, including sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and impersonation, as well as the action taken.
The rules would apply to all providers serving users in Kenya, including those based outside the country. The Bill defines a digital platform as an online environment for interactions, transactions and content-sharing, covering Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok and X.
According to the Bill, the new section aims to “enhance online safety and ensure that providers delivering services to users in Kenya are accountable”.
Under the proposal, the CA would maintain a register of platforms used by Kenyans, receive and help resolve user complaints, and monitor compliance.
Platforms would also be required to keep their services available and safe, publish their policies and terms, and establish complaints and redress mechanisms.
A separate draft, the Online Safety Bill 2026, goes further by proposing a duty of care for providers of regulated online services, including social networks and search engines. It would also require annual risk assessments covering recommendation algorithms and content distribution.
Providers found in breach of their duty of care could face fines of up to KES500 million (about US$3.9 million) or 10% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher.
Senior executives who consent to, participate in or are grossly negligent in a breach could face fines of up to KES10 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
The draft also proposes requiring parental consent for children using regulated services. It lists age-verification methods such as credit card checks, identity cross-referencing and decentralised digital identity.
It would not require platforms to scan private messages. Any such scanning would have to meet tests of necessity, proportionality and data protection.
Under the draft, the CA would serve as the main regulator, with powers to issue compliance notices and civil penalties. Providers would be able to appeal to the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal within 30 days.
The proposals follow months of pressure on digital platforms.
In February, Parliament rejected an outright TikTok ban, instead calling for stronger regulation, compliance reviews and user safeguards, including an expanded role for the CA.
It also urged the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to engage platforms on age verification, content filtering and AI moderation that recognises Kenyan languages.
In June, ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo told senators that X must establish a physical office in Kenya within three months or risk losing its approval to operate.
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