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The Online Safety Bill would force platforms to take down illegal content, run child risk assessments and face turnover-based penalties of up to 10% of global revenue. Gazette Supplement No. 249 (National Assembly Bills No. 69 of 2026), published 29 October 2026, creates a duty of care for user-to-user and search services accessible in Kenya. It is not law yet.
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What the Online Safety Bill says platforms must take down
The Bill PDF on parliament.go.ke imposes duties of care on providers of regulated user-to-user services and search services. Providers must assess illegal-content risks, take proportionate steps so users do not encounter priority illegal content, and restrict or remove illegal content. Priority illegal content includes terrorism offences and child sexual exploitation and abuse material.
The Communications Authority of Kenya would monitor and enforce compliance. Private communications get a specific protection carve-out in Part II, so the take-down duties are aimed at open or discoverable content, not a blanket read of every message.
Child safety rules in the Online Safety Bill
Part III requires children’s risk assessments, age verification or estimation, parental consent pathways, reporting tools, and Safety by Design measures such as curbing harmful algorithmic feeds and defaulting child profiles to the highest privacy settings. “Content harmful to children” covers pornographic material, suicide and self-harm instruction, eating-disorder content, bullying, graphic violence and other listed categories. A child is defined as a person under eighteen.
Parents and persons with parental responsibility are also assigned a duty to guide and supervise children’s use of internet services — the Bill does not put the whole burden on platforms alone.
Penalties and what happens next
Part IV gives the Authority compliance notices, corporate liability, civil penalties as an alternative to criminal prosecution, and appeals to the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal. The memorandum states that deterrent corporate sanctions include turnover-based penalties of up to ten percent of global qualifying revenue and business disruption orders.
The Bill was received by the National Assembly’s Director of Legal Services on 2 November 2026. It still needs the remaining parliamentary stages and presidential assent. Platforms that already operate age gates for other markets should map Kenyan definitions before any commencement date is set. Related reading: our tax on online income guide for creators who monetise the same platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Online Safety Bill ban social media?
No. It creates duties of care, risk assessments and take-down rules for regulated services, not a blanket ban.
What is the maximum corporate penalty?
The memorandum cites turnover-based penalties of up to ten percent of global qualifying revenue, plus disruption orders.
Is this already in force?
No. It is a published Bill awaiting parliamentary passage and assent.
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