Kenyans will soon be required to present their national IDs or any other form of identification before accessing social media sites as part of the measures the government is taking to protect children from harmful content online.
The new industry guidelines, by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), published in April, provide a framework for the design, development, and use of ICT products and services in a way that guarantees the safety of children online.
The Industry Guidelines For Child Online Protection and Safety In Kenya, state that children, too, have the right to access information as well as the right to the freedom of expression, hence the need to protect them while they are on the internet.
According to CA, the responsibility of safeguarding children online falls on everyone, therefore, Application Service Providers (ASPs) and Content Service Providers (CSPs) have been urged to develop age-verification mechanisms to ensure children do not access media they are not supposed to.
