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The petitioner seeking a ban on TikTok over inappropriate content has changed his position just days after meeting the company’s directors.

Appearing before the National Assembly Public Petition, Bob Ndolo (pictured), the Executive Director General of Bridge Consultancy, said he has amended his petition to focus on regulation through legislation due to pressure from stakeholders and the App’s users.

Last month, President William Ruto held talks with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew and reached an agreement on moderation mechanisms to reduce negative content on the App.

“We have been receiving calls from Tiktokers and that’s why we wanted to push for its regulations to protect national security and protect the youth from inappropriate content,” Ndolo told the committee chaired by Vihiga MP Ernest Kagesi.

Asked whether he had been pressurised by the government to drop his earlier position, Ndolo denied receiving any call from the President or any State official over the matter, but admitted meeting the company directors and held a closed-door meeting whose content he did not reveal.

“Have your change of stance been influenced by the meeting between the President and the TikTok owners?” posed MP Walter Owino (Awendo). Music and Copyright Society of Kenya chief executive Ezekiel Mutua, who is in support of the petition, decried that the App has massive negative effects on the masses due to unregulated content.

Mutua implored MPs to take immediate action to safeguard Kenyans from the negative effects of the App, which has exposed children to nudity and profanity.

“Social media sites that are unregulated are a conduit for the destruction of our moral values. We have forgotten the software which is the moral fabric of our nation and where children are concerned,” he noted.