MP Zaheer Jhanda to sponsor Bill requiring influencers to have degrees

The legislator said on Tuesday that the Bill will require influencers to hold degrees in professional fields related to the content they create, in a bid to curb misinformation.

"We cannot have a country where everyone is an expert," he wrote.

MP Jhanda believes that influencers should first be recognized by relevant institutions such as the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), and others.

Jhanda said he is borrowing the concept from China’s new regulation, which, according to him, requires influencers who discuss regulated topics to show proof of their expertise.

However, this law does not yet exist in statute, as it must be approved by the National People’s Congress (NPC), the highest organ of state power. China does, however, have regulations in place aimed at curbing misinformation and managing internet content.

While China has laws that address crimes related to misinformation and the management of online content, there are currently none that specifically require influencers to hold academic qualifications to post content.

Section 161 of the Cybercrimes Law on access to a computer with criminal or dishonest intent states that any person who gains access to a computer or device with the intent to commit an offence, deceive, or obtain dishonest gain for themselves or cause loss to another commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for up to five years.

China’s data protection framework is structured around three fundamental pillars: the Cybersecurity Law (CSL, 2017), the Data Security Law (DSL, 2021), and the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL, 2021). While these laws overlap in certain areas, each focuses on a distinct dimension of data governance.