Concerns about TikTok aren't exclusive to the United
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 9:18 am
However, concerns have been raised in many parts of the world regarding its security features.
TikTok has recently been in the crosshairs, including from US lawmakers who questioned CEO Shou Zi Chew for more than four hours in what was described as a "congressional standoff."
The focus was on suspicions that user data collected by the app could be accessed by the Chinese government.
States—several countries now ban the app's use gansu mobile number database other social media platforms on government employees' phones due to insufficient data security measures.
Waihiga Mwaura
Waihiga Mwaura
There is a feeling that if data security is an issue, TikTok should not be the sole focus."
Waihiga Mwaura
Kenyan journalist
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But there has been silence from African governments. No country on the continent has yet taken action against TikTok.
Speaking to some experts here in Kenya, there is a feeling that while data security is an issue, TikTok should not be the sole focus.
Kennedy Kachwanya, president of the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), reminds us of the accusations that the British company Cambridge Analytica harvested user data in Kenya to help manipulate the outcome of the 2013 and 2017 elections.
The company, which has now closed, said in 2018 that it was employed as a marketing agency and was simply using social media to help its client win.
"The Cambridge Analytica issue has been widely discussed in the US and the UK, but what they did in Kenya, for example, during the 2013 elections, was barely mentioned," Kachwanya said.
"I feel like Kenya and Nigeria were testing grounds for them before they were widely used in the US and UK."
For him, the allegations about what Cambridge Analytica could do indicated how user information could be used by third parties, either for commercial purposes, to interfere with the democratic process, or to aid state surveillance.
There are also claims that anti-TikTok headlines reflect fears that its rivals are losing market share.
James Wamathai, also of Bake, believes the targeting of TikTok is fueled by American hysteria and propaganda.
The digital strategist says that "US companies are collecting a lot more data" and argues that they are frustrated because they seem "unable to compete with TikTok."
There is also another concern regarding user safety and the possibility of them being exposed to inappropriate material.
Gift Mirie, head of a Nairobi-based digital company that manages social media influencers, closely followed the session with the TikTok CEO at the US Congress. He was surprised to see how open the 40-year-old was with information about the platform's inner workings.
His biggest problem, however, was that the assurances Shou Zi Chew had made about the safety of American teenagers were not extended elsewhere.
“We have seen how quickly African youth jump on global trends – what consideration is there for their safety in this algorithm protection plan?” asked Mr. Mirie.
TikTok has recently been in the crosshairs, including from US lawmakers who questioned CEO Shou Zi Chew for more than four hours in what was described as a "congressional standoff."
The focus was on suspicions that user data collected by the app could be accessed by the Chinese government.
States—several countries now ban the app's use gansu mobile number database other social media platforms on government employees' phones due to insufficient data security measures.
Waihiga Mwaura
Waihiga Mwaura
There is a feeling that if data security is an issue, TikTok should not be the sole focus."
Waihiga Mwaura
Kenyan journalist
1px transparent line
But there has been silence from African governments. No country on the continent has yet taken action against TikTok.
Speaking to some experts here in Kenya, there is a feeling that while data security is an issue, TikTok should not be the sole focus.
Kennedy Kachwanya, president of the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), reminds us of the accusations that the British company Cambridge Analytica harvested user data in Kenya to help manipulate the outcome of the 2013 and 2017 elections.
The company, which has now closed, said in 2018 that it was employed as a marketing agency and was simply using social media to help its client win.
"The Cambridge Analytica issue has been widely discussed in the US and the UK, but what they did in Kenya, for example, during the 2013 elections, was barely mentioned," Kachwanya said.
"I feel like Kenya and Nigeria were testing grounds for them before they were widely used in the US and UK."
For him, the allegations about what Cambridge Analytica could do indicated how user information could be used by third parties, either for commercial purposes, to interfere with the democratic process, or to aid state surveillance.
There are also claims that anti-TikTok headlines reflect fears that its rivals are losing market share.
James Wamathai, also of Bake, believes the targeting of TikTok is fueled by American hysteria and propaganda.
The digital strategist says that "US companies are collecting a lot more data" and argues that they are frustrated because they seem "unable to compete with TikTok."
There is also another concern regarding user safety and the possibility of them being exposed to inappropriate material.
Gift Mirie, head of a Nairobi-based digital company that manages social media influencers, closely followed the session with the TikTok CEO at the US Congress. He was surprised to see how open the 40-year-old was with information about the platform's inner workings.
His biggest problem, however, was that the assurances Shou Zi Chew had made about the safety of American teenagers were not extended elsewhere.
“We have seen how quickly African youth jump on global trends – what consideration is there for their safety in this algorithm protection plan?” asked Mr. Mirie.