KFCB is targeting inappropriate audiovisual content in matatus fitted with entertainment screens.
The film board is working with police to ensure PSVs show child-friendly content during the long school holidays.
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has intensified matatu screen inspections to protect children from inappropriate audiovisual content. The operation targets matatus and other public service vehicles (PSVs) with entertainment screens.
KFCB is working with the National Police Service and other stakeholders to ensure operators show child-friendly material. The inspections come during the long end-of-year school holidays, ahead of December festivities that are expected to increase children’s travel.
Matatu screen inspections target harmful content
The board cautioned PSV operators against showing material that could harm younger passengers. It also stressed that operators must ensure the content on their screens suits children travelling in their vehicles.
With schools closed, children will use public transport both alone and with their families. KFCB warned that screens in matatus and other PSVs could expose them to inappropriate material during those journeys.
Meanwhile, the agency urged the public to report cases involving children’s exposure to unsuitable audiovisual content. That appeal extends beyond public transport to other public and private spaces.
Members of the public can submit reports through KFCB’s email address or social media platforms for investigation and action. The board emphasised that protecting children online and offline requires vigilance and participation from all stakeholders.
Wider holiday monitoring and legal obligations
The latest inspections follow an October 27 advisory announcing three months of increased monitoring of online platforms and audiovisual premises. That programme also seeks to protect children from adult content during the holidays.
In that advisory, KFCB said it was working with other government institutions to strengthen compliance at establishments including gaming hubs. The agency identified these venues as places where minors could encounter adult material or face exposure to illegal filming.
It also warned that longer holiday screen time could expose children to unsuitable content on television and streaming services. Social media and gaming platforms formed part of the same warning.
KFCB urged broadcasters, distributors, exhibitors, video-show operators and gaming platform operators to meet licensing and content classification requirements. Under the Children Act, 2022, offences involving electronically accessible obscene material for children can attract imprisonment, fines of up to Ksh2 million, or both, depending on the offence.
