Kenya's Online Safety Bill 2026: what it means for TikTok, Facebook, X and you
A proposed law would make social media companies assess and act on harmful content, verify children's ages and report illegal activity to the Communications Authority, with fines of up to KSh500 million. Here is what is in it and why critics are worried.
- New explainer: Kenya's Online Safety Bill 2026.
Kenya has published a proposed Online Safety Bill, 2026. It would put new legal duties on social networks, search engines and other online services used in Kenya, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. It is a proposal: it still has to go through public participation and debate in Parliament, and is likely to change.
What the bill would require
| Area | What it proposes |
|---|---|
| Duty of care | Platforms must assess risks at least once a year, including how their algorithms spread content |
| Priority harms | Terrorism material, child sexual exploitation, pornography, bullying, hate, serious violence and content encouraging self-harm |
| Acting on reports | Platforms must act quickly once they know about illegal content |
| Reporting | Platforms would report activity such as sexual exploitation, cyberbullying and impersonation to the regulator |
| Children | Verified parental consent before children use regulated services; age checks such as credit card checks or ID cross-referencing |
| Regulator | The Communications Authority of Kenya, with appeals to a tribunal within 30 days |
The penalties
The safeguards
- Measures must be proportionate.
- Platforms are not required to scan private messages; any scanning must pass necessity and data-protection tests, with human review in some cases.
Why critics are worried
- Age checks for everything. Digital rights groups say requiring parental consent for all services, not just risky ones, goes further than the EU, UK or Australia.
- Privacy. Linking accounts to IDs or cards creates databases that could be hacked or used for surveillance.
- Exclusion. Many Kenyans have no credit card, some adults lack IDs, and families share phones. Children could be pushed to VPNs.
- Over-removal. Huge fines may lead platforms to delete lawful posts to be safe, and users have no clear way to appeal.
What happens next
Watch for public participation notices from Parliament. That is your chance to submit views. In February 2026, MPs had already rejected calls to ban TikTok, preferring regulation.
Related: the 5% creator tax · what Kenyans do online.
