Social Media Admins Put on Notice ahead of Thursday's Fresh Election

Bloggers and social media administrators have been put on notice that they could face hefty fines and possible jail term over content published in their sites.

While issuing the warning, Communications Authority of Kenya and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) said that social media admins will be held personally accountable for inciting contents in their websites and pages.

“It shall be the responsibility of the Administrator to moderate and control content and discussions on their platform. Social media platform administrators will be held liable for any hate speech posts allowed in the forum,” reads the statement signed by Communications Authority Director General, Francis Wangusi and NCIC Chair, Francis Ole Kaparo.

The two bodies further called on broadcasters to responsibly manage their online sites to avoid “divisive and undesirable user generated content.”

“Broadcasters are advised to exercise caution during this sensitive period to avoid giving hate mongers a platform to propagate hate speech, ethnic contempt and incitement to violence,” the statement adds.

The warning was directed to bloggers, online news sites, political leaders and their supporters to avoid statements and publications that could cause violence.

This comes only a day before the repeat presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court is conducted and at a time when political temperatures in the country are high.