When Big Tech becomes a tool of state control in Kenya

This post by Grace Kobare belongs to Global Voices’ October 2026 Spotlight series, “Big Tech and Authoritarianism.” In this Spotlight, we check out how Big Tech assists in and impedes authoritarian federal governments and practices, and how these options affect the Global South. You can support this protection by contributing here.

On January 30, 2018, Raila Odinga held his symbolic “swearing-in” event in Nairobi, and the federal government, through Kenya’s regulator, turned off the transmitters of KTN, NTV and Citizen Television while they were transmitting live.

The Interior Ministry safeguarded the relocationstating the media had actually been offered a security rundown beforehand. The stations remained off air for days and were just totally back by February 9, 2018

Kenya’s web liberty drops significantly

The 2018 occurrence was simply among numerous examples of Kenyan authorities cutting off connection– especially throughout times of discontent. Throughout the June 2024 tax demonstrationsauthorities closed down web connection for around 7 hours and apprehended a great deal of protesters. The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) likewise reported that a minimum of 3 networks obstructed the web variation of Telegram throughout those demonstrations, and the blocks were reversed the exact same day.

A year later on, throughout the June 2025 demonstrations throughout Kenya, an interactions authority released an instruction to media homes to stop live broadcasts of the discontent, and Telegram was obstructed once again. Gain access to Now stated this breached a High Court injunction versus hindering web and Telegram gain access to.

Provided these occurrences, it is not a surprise that Kenya’s web liberty record has actually intensified over the last few years. Liberty House discovered that in 2025 Kenya had the most extreme decrease of the 72 nations evaluated throughout the protection duration.

A larger pattern of web flexibility decrease

Kenya’s experience belongs to a larger pattern. Liberty House discovered that international web liberty decreased for the 15th successive year in 2025as authoritarian federal governments utilized censorship and offline repression to squash demonstrations arranged online. Gain access to Now’s 2025 report discovered that a minimum of 313 shutdowns were carried out worldwide, which in Africa the web was closed down 30 times in 15 nationswith demonstrations the prominent trigger, followed by elections.

In Tanzania, a web blackout was enforced after demonstrations appeared on election dayOctober 29, 2025. It was just partly reduced on November 4, together with a curfew. An opposition legal representative stated online mobilization became part of the factor for the blanket block, and protesters utilized VPNs to reach platforms such as X Spaces

In Uganda, the regulator purchased all mobile operators and web companies to suspend public web gain access to across the country from 6 p.m. on 13 January 2026, 2 days before the basic electionAuthorities had actually openly rejected prepare for a blanket shutdown ahead of time. The platforms themselves have actually been targets too: A Facebook restriction followed the five-day blackout of the 2021 election and was still in result in 2026and Starlink disabled its terminals in the nation after Uganda purchased the service closed down on premises they were unlicensed.

Kenya’s case demonstrates how state pressure on info has actually moved from broadcasters to platforms and the laws that govern them.

Checks through Kenya’s courts

The June 2025 Telegram block came in spite of a High Court injunction. The federal government has actually likewise attempted to compose that power into law.

In October 2025, President William Ruto signed the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) ActPerson Rights Watch (HRW) stated it runs the risk of criminalizing genuine online speech. The Act likewise broadened the powers of a state committee, the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4), to make sites and apps unattainable

The High Court in Nairobi suspended essential areas a week after Ruto signed it. By July 2026, the High Court had actually stated the website-blocking powers unconstitutionalThe chairperson of the Bloggers Association of Kenya, Kennedy Kachwanyainformed Human Rights Watch that the changed law positions an undesirable danger to digital rights and flexibility of expression.

Beyond specific platforms

Amnesty International recorded a collaborated project in between June 2024 and July 2025 that utilized social networks and digital tools to reduce Gen Z-led demonstrations in Kenya. Amnesty discovered that X was main to pro-government networks, as pro-government stars published similar messages consistently to pirate the platform’s algorithm and sway public understanding. Amnesty kept in mind that X stopped working to act upon arranged projects that breach its own policy. A individual informed Amnesty he became part of a network of around 20 individuals paid approximately KES 25,000 (USD 192.50) to KES 50,000 (USD 385.29) a day to press pro-government messages onto X’s trending lists.

The Kenyan federal government is now looking for more direct utilize over huge tech business. The ICT Cabinet Secretary informed the Senate that X should open a physical workplace in Kenya within 3 months or lose running approval. The regulation reaches TikTok and Meta, and offers the interactions authority powers to suspend non-compliant platforms. The federal government framed this as a relocate to secure kids online. a rights group summary of the relocation warns that regional existence might let authorities pressure personnel and need takedowns silently.

Kenya’s courts have up until now pressed back on a few of the harshest stepshowever the pressure keeps altering, from turning off tv in 2018, to interfering with web gain access to in 2024 and obstructing Telegram in 2025, and now to needs that platforms established workplaces in the nation.

What occurs next depends partially on the business themselves. They can withstand orders that silence their users, or they can choose that keeping access to the Kenyan market deserves abiding by the federal government’s needs. For Kenyans who count on these platforms to arrange and to be heard, that option matters, since it assists choose just how much of their public discussion remains devoid of state control.