Senator Issues Clarification After Uproar on Contentious Social Media Proposal
Nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has issued a clarification on a proposed ban of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in Kenya.
Orwoba, during a Senate hearing on Thursday, October 3, courted controversy after suggesting there should be regulations around social media platforms to mitigate the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
The senator cited the recent X ban in Brazil as an example of how the South American government dealt with the social media platform for failing to comply with court orders.
“In Kenya, abuse of social media including X to spread misinformation and hate speech continues to be of concern with the proliferation of the internet and social media in the country,” the Senator observed in her speech.
Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba following committee proceedings on April 21, 2023.
Photo
Parliament of Kenya
She added: “Social media has been used to attack innocent persons including revealing critical information of the victims in violation of the Data Protection Act.”
On August 31 2024, X was banned in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline set by Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes to name a new legal representative in the country.
In a bid to fight online abuse and the spread of misinformation, the Senator called for mechanisms to ensure platforms like X complied with Kenyan laws and regulations.
“The Committee should outline the basic guidelines that the Communications Authority of Kenya and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner have laid to ensure X complies with Kenyan laws and regulations,” she said.
The Senator further wanted confirmation on whether social media platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok were registered in Kenya. In addition, she also called for the measures in place to ensure victims of abuse had somewhere to report social media abuse.
X, which is owned by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, is one of the most popular social media apps in Kenya, with at least 1.87 million people using the platform. In recent months, Kenyans have used the platform to air strong views about the state of the nation, with one of the more notable recent events being an engagement between President William Ruto and Gen Z on the renowned X space.
Meanwhile, Senator Orwoba has always been against cyberbullying and she once threatened to permanently quit X, when the platform was known as Twitter.
Her latest comments before the Senate typically led to backlash on social media, prompting her to issue clarity on her earlier statements.
“You can choose to be misinformed and be trendy or you can seek actual facts and have an actual impact,” she said. “My statement demands that all data processors be registered in Kenya and have physical offices for various purposes including curbing crime.”
A mobile phone with the X app. PHOTO/Kenyans.co.ke.
Kenyans.co.ke
