"Kenya Says Social Media Won’t Be Blocked After Warning To Facebook"

Kenya insisted Saturday that social media would not be blocked after a state watchdog warned Facebook it risked suspension if it did not tackle hate speech on its platform. The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) said Friday it had given Facebook’s parent Meta seven days to act following a report it allowed more than a dozen hateful political ads in the run-up to Kenya‘s August 9 election. But Joe Mucheru, Kenya‘s minister of information, communications and technology, said on Twitter Saturday: “Media, including social media, will continue to enjoy press freedom in Kenya.”

He said it was “not clear” what legal framework the NCIC planned to use to suspend Facebook, adding: “Govt is on record. We are NOT shutting down the Internet.” His comments were echoed by Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i who said Kenyans’ right to free expression was enshrined in the constitution. “And, we as a government, have no intention of infringing on that right.”