NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya is poised to become the first nation globally to enforce mandatory identity verification for all social media users.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has confirmed that within six months, new child online protection guidelines will come into effect, requiring all ICT product and service providers, including social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp, to implement stringent age verification mechanisms.
While the initial phase of the directive may permit self-declared age input, CA officials have indicated that the ultimate goal is full verification using government-issued identification.
“Initially, service providers may accept user-entered ages, but ultimately everyone will be required to verify their identity through government-issued ID,” a CA official told Business Daily. This future requirement will necessitate users who currently access platforms anonymously or pseudonymously to confirm their age and identity using official documents such as a national ID card or passport.
Authorities state that the primary objective of this move is to safeguard children from harmful digital content. Kenya’s new guidelines are part of a larger strategy aimed at protecting children online by embedding safety features from the initial design stages of digital services. The regulations also place the responsibility for protection directly on digital service providers, encompassing app developers, mobile operators, device manufacturers, and content creators.
According to the Industry Guidelines for Child Online Protection and Safety in Kenya, all application and content service providers are mandated to develop and implement age verification systems, register SIM cards used by children in accordance with national regulations, declare the intended users of SIM cards upon registration, appoint personnel specifically responsible for online child safety, and publish child protection policies, along with submitting periodic compliance reports to the CA.
These regulations are the result of public consultations and align with the CA’s constitutional mandate to protect ICT consumers, particularly children, from digital exploitation, cyberbullying, and age-inappropriate content.
