The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to several prominent YouTubers for uploading audio-visual content without the required licenses. In a letter, KFCB has directed content creators to secure filming licenses for their work.
The board also instructed these creators to submit their videos for examination and classification before public distribution.
Acting CEO Paskal Opiyo highlighted in the statement, “Our attention has been drawn to your YouTube channel where you have continuously uploaded audio-visual content for purposes of exhibiting and distributing it to the public, without acquiring the requisite filming licenses from the Kenya Film Classification Board.”
Opiyo further demanded compliance with the Films and Stage Plays Act, stating, “We demand that you strictly comply with the requirements of the Films and Stage Plays Act by obtaining filming licenses for your films and submitting them for examination and classification before the same is exhibited and distributed to the public through your YouTube channel.”
KFCB warned that failure to comply within 14 days would result in legal action under the relevant laws. The statement read,
“Take notice that unless you comply with the above in the next fourteen (14) days, we shall institute legal proceedings in accordance with the provisions of the Films and Stage Plays Act and other relevant laws, without further reference to you and at your own risks as to costs and other attendant consequences thereto.”
The directive has sparked strong reactions from the content creators involved.
This move by KFCB underscores the regulatory body’s commitment to enforcing the Films and Stage Plays Act but has also ignited a debate on the impact of such regulations on Kenya’s burgeoning content creation industry.
