Kenya did not look to blackout Meta Platforms IncMETA owned Facebook after allotting it a week to comply with rules on hate speech, Reuters reports.
Kenya’s regulatory watchdog blamed Facebook for violating Kenya’s constitution and laws for failing to tackle hate speech and incitement on the platform ahead of the August 9 national elections.
“We do not have a plan to shut down any of these platforms,” Joe Mucheru, the minister for information, communication, and technology, told Reuters. “Press freedom is one we cherish, whether it is (traditional) media or social media.”
Meta acknowledged taking “extensive steps” to weed out hate speech and inflammatory content, intensifying those efforts ahead of the election.
Supporters of the leading presidential candidates, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and deputy president William Ruto, exploited social media platforms during election campaigns.
Previously Facebook also faced flak for allowing users to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In 2021, Facebook launched feed control features to beat hate speech and misinformation criticism.
Price action: META shares traded lower by 0.55% at $158.22 in the premarket on the last check Monday.
