Kenyan ministers say the government has no intention of banning Facebook despite a watchdog in the country accusing the social media platform of failing to stop hate speech ahead of August 9 elections. Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) gave Facebook one week to comply with regulations against ethnic hate speech or risk suspension. The threat came after a report by rights group Global Witness said Facebook approved hate speech advertisements that promoted ethnic violence ahead of the election.
Voice of America reports that Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has accused the NCIC of making “a careless decision” on the matter. Kenya’s Minister of Information and Technology Joe Mucheru told VOA that while the issues raised were valid, they did not warrant blocking Facebook. “That is not within our legal mandate, and we have been working with Facebook and many other platforms,” Muchera said.
The NCIC’s ultimatum came after Global Witness issued a report calling for a suspension of Facebook advertising until the election is concluded. The group said Facebook should take a series of actions similar to the “Break the Glass” measures that the company instituted following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Facebook can and should urgently take similar actions in Kenya. If Mark Zuckerberg chooses to sit on his hands, it will make it clear that for him, and for Facebook, American lives matter – Kenyan lives don’t,” said Cori Crider, director of Foxglove, the UK-based NGO that joined Global Witness in issuing the report, along with “Facebook Files” whistleblower Frances Haugen.
The report says 20 ads in English and Swahili containing hate speech that it submitted to Facebook as a test were approved for publication. After Facebook was notified of the findings, the social media platform’s owner Meta issued a statement outlining steps “to help ensure a safe and secure general election”. Researchers then submitted two more ads “to see if there had indeed been any improvement in Facebook’s detection of hate speech ads,” and both were approved.
