The President of Kenya, William Samoei Ruto during a virtual meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, on Thursday, August 24, 2023, agreed that Kenya will work with the short-form video hosting service TikTok in reviewing and monitoring its content to ensure that it adheres to the agreed community guidelines and standards.

Ruto agreed to set up an office in Kenya to coordinate its operations in the region, pledging to hire more Kenyans to work for the platform which will increase the employment of Kenyan individuals.

“Kenya will work with the short-form video hosting service TikTok in reviewing and monitoring its content to ensure that it adheres to the agreed community guidelines and standards. It is our commitment that we bring up our children in the right environment,” Ruto tweeted.

During the meeting, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew also committed to collaborate with Kenyan authorities by forming a joint team to moderate TikTok in accordance with government guidelines.

On August 15, 2023, in a petition to the National Assembly, the Executive Officer of Bridget Connect Consultancy, Bob Ndolo wanted Members of Parliament to ban the use of TikTok in the country, arguing that the popular social media site is exposing young people to explicit sexual content.

The petitioner submitted that, content on TikTok is inappropriate and promotes violence, sex, hate speech, vulgar language, and offensive behavior, terming it a threat to cultural and religious values.

However, the petition met mixed reactions from legislators, with some arguing that the platform should not be banned because it has birthed content creation jobs for the youth.