Kenya's draft ICT bill would make digital platforms register

Kenya's draft ICT bill would make digital platforms register

2 November 2026: Kenya's Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy has published a revised draft of the Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2026 for a last round of comment. For the first time, the Bill would put online platforms that serve Kenyan users under the Communications Authority. They would have to register, publish their terms, run a complaints process and report unlawful activity to the regulator. Written comments are due by 17 November 2026, and a virtual validation forum follows on 25 November.

Not yet independently verified. The ministry's notice carries no printed date; we date it 2 November from its file. The draft numbers the digital platforms section 85B in its text and 85C in its margin, and it is still a draft for validation, not law. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The ministry says a multi-stakeholder committee prepared the draft after reviewing the Act and holding public consultations, and that it revised the text to reflect those submissions.

A register for platforms, wherever they are based

The draft defines a digital platform as "an online environment that facilitates interactions, transactions and content sharing among users". It applies to any provider established in Kenya or delivering services to users in Kenya, so a foreign software or marketplace business with Kenyan users is in scope.

Under the new section, a provider must notify the Authority of its particulars and the nature of its services, and must:

• ensure the availability and safety of its service;
• publish and publicise the policies, terms and conditions for using it;
• set up a complaint redress mechanism;
• report to the Authority any unlawful activity and the steps taken to remedy it;
• comply with the relevant laws of Kenya.

The Authority would keep the register, receive and help resolve user complaints, and monitor compliance. The clause does not itself set a penalty for platforms. Some Kenyan outlets have reported a KES 500 million fine; we found no such figure in the draft.

Turnover-based penalties for licensees

For licensed operators the changes are sharper. A licensee that fails to remedy a contravention could have its licence or service suspended, have the licence revoked, or pay a penalty from KES 20,000 up to 0.2% of the previous year's annual gross turnover for each year the contravention continues, after being given a hearing. The current Act fixes a floor of KES 500,000. A new national ICT infrastructure mapping system would require licensees to report existing and planned infrastructure in their compliance returns, with a penalty of up to 0.5% of annual gross turnover for missing, false or incomplete data.

Many fixed fines rise as well, several from one million to five million shillings, and the fine for running an electronic certification system or administering a .ke sub-domain without a licence goes from KES 300,000 to KES 1 million.

Subscribers, not SIM cards

The Bill moves registration duties from the sale of a SIM card to the registration of a subscriber, which the memorandum says is to accommodate embedded SIMs and other digital identifiers. It also adds type approval and standards for electronic communications equipment and systems, lets the Authority authorise trials of new technologies, and widens infrastructure sharing beyond co-location. Two offences, damaging a computer system and publishing obscene material, are repealed because the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act now covers them.

Comments go to the address given in the ministry's notice, using its template, which asks for the section of the Bill, the proposal and the justification.

Sources

• Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy: Public notice, validation of the draft Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2026, 2 November 2026
• Communications Authority of Kenya: Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2026, revised draft (read 5 November 2026), 5 November 2026
• Business Daily: Meta, TikTok, X to face mandatory illegal online activity reports in Kenya, 4 November 2026