Surveillance in Kenya
A Kenyan AI bill criminalizes deepfakes intended to deceive or defame, raising concerns about its impact on political expression and potential misuse against activists.
- Incident date
- May 2026
- Target
- Young female activists
A proposed AI bill in Kenya, while intending to combat disinformation, raises concerns about its potential impact on political expression. The bill criminalizes creating or distributing deepfakes intended to deceive, defame, or incite violence, with penalties of up to KES 5 million and two years' imprisonment.
What happened
The bill's deepfake provisions arrive as AI-generated disinformation circulates within Kenya's political sphere. Examples include deepfake videos targeting government officials and AI-generated explicit content aimed at silencing female politicians and activists. One documented case involved young women finding AI-generated pornographic images of themselves being spread online. The legislation's broad language and criminal penalties, however, may disproportionately affect legitimate forms of political expression, such as satire.