A team from TikTok led by Tokunbo Ibrahim, the Government Relations and Public Policy Lead for West Africa, today paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George (MP) to congratulate him on his appointment, discuss the Ministry’s key priorities as well as seek opportunities for collaboration.
During the meeting Ms Ibrahim also provided key updates from TikTok, including the recently introduced STEM feed – a unique feed dedicated to educational and inspiring science, technology, engineering and mathematics videos.
Ms. Ibrahim also reaffirmed TikTok’s dedication to the safety of its community in Ghana, emphasising that harmful misinformation is not allowed on the platform, and committing to working with the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) on these efforts.
”Given your leadership in advancing digital inclusion, online safety, and youth empowerment, we are looking forward to seeing how the digital economy will continue to grow under your direction,” Ms. Ibrahim said.
Welcoming the team, the Minister highlighted the need to identify age restrictions to help protect children online (Child Online Protection).
He urged TikTok to ensure the sanctity of its platform by enforcing mechanisms that protect minors, uphold age-appropriate content standards, and discourage harmful content.
Hon. Nartey George emphasized the need for the platform to evolve beyond entertainment and serve as a productive tool for learning and skills development.
The Hon. Minister also mentioned the structure of algorithms for Ghana, enquiring how it works.
Hon. Samuel Nartey George expressed excitement about the STEM feed introduction. “We will work with you to see how to drive content on the One Million Coders Program to help Ghanaians use the app to learn and also pick classes”, he said.
The Minister also mentioned the need for a boot camp training for bloggers to help maximize the economic potential of content creators.
He stressed the need to manage misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, adding, that TikTok must consider setting up a content consideration team committed to ensuring the sanctity of the people.
