MP wants WhatsApp group admins to pay licence fee or face Sh200,000 fine

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 24 Sep, 2019 16:40 | < 1 min read
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Malava MP Malulu Injendi has called for the regulation of social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook to stop the spread of offensive content.

Injendi has sponsored a bill which will require administrators to obtain licences from the communications regulator before they create social media groups.

The bill proposes that anyone who fails to obtain a licence should be put on trial — if convicted they should be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison or be fined a maximum of $2,000 (£1,600).

A study published in July showed that Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular social media platforms in Kenya, and most users are in the 25-35 age group.

According to napoleoncat.com, there are nearly 8 million Kenyans on Facebook, majority of them men (58.6 per cent).

About 12 million are also believed to be on WhatsApp.

Additional reporting by Joel Muinde.