Kenya Says TikTok Agrees to Content Moderation Deal

FILE - A smartphone with a displayed TikTok logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken February 23, 2023.

NAIROBI — TikTok has agreed to moderate content on its app in Kenya, the country's presidency said Thursday, days after parliament received a petition to ban the popular video-sharing platform.

TikTok, owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, is facing intense scrutiny across the world due to privacy and security concerns.

"Short-form video hosting service TikTok will work with Kenya in reviewing and monitoring its content," President William Ruto's office said in a statement after a call with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew.

"This new development means that inappropriate or offensive content will be expunged from the platform," it added.

Ruto also said on social media that Chew had agreed to set up an office in Kenya to "coordinate" TikTok's operation in Africa.

No further details were given on the arrangement or when the Kenyan office would begin operations.

Thursday's announcement comes barely 10 days after Kenyan legislators received a petition from a private citizen demanding that TikTok be banned in the East African country for promoting obscenity.