The Government is in the process of acquiring an Artificial Intelligence-powered system to help curb adult and offensive content being shared on social media and other digital platforms.

The move comes amid growing concern in Uganda over the spread of sexually explicit and other inappropriate content online, including AI-generated videos and images shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and X, formerly Twitter.

Parents, activists and other stakeholders have increasingly called for stronger measures to protect children from exposure to such material, particularly as access to smartphones and social media platforms continues to grow.

Appearing on NBS Television, ICT and National Guidance Minister Kasule Lumumba said the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is in the process of procuring a system that will use AI to identify and filter certain words and content before they are distributed on digital platforms.

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"So UCC is in the process of procuring a system that will help us to be able to, especially using AI, to be able to remove certain words, to disperse certain words that should not come out like it is done in other countries," Lumumba said while appearing on NBS TV.

She said technological advancement has created opportunities but also provided new avenues for abuse, including the spread of material that conflicts with Uganda's cultural values.

"Wherever you register success, there is a challenge. So, the innovation that has been done has also sometimes been used as a platform for abuse," she said.

Lumumba said the spread of sexually explicit material online was particularly affecting cultural values in Central Uganda.

"And it's also affecting our cultures, it's eroding our cultures, it's eroding, like now, in Central here, I'm sorry, we have to do a lot to do.. Because some people on these platforms (social media) have really displayed them (private parts) and yet that is against the culture here in Central," she said.

The minister said Uganda could learn from countries that have introduced stricter controls over digital content.

Lumumba, however, acknowledged that Uganda's approach would have to be different because of its democratic system.

She said protecting children and the wider public from harmful material should be among the reasons for introducing such measures.

She also said Uganda would need to ensure that local languages can be understood by such systems if the technology is to effectively monitor content shared online.

"But it will also require us to ensure that our local languages can be understood and processed by AI systems," she said.

The proposed system comes as countries and regulators around the world adopt different approaches to harmful online content and the misuse of generative AI.

In January 2026, Indonesia and Malaysia temporarily restricted access to Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot after authorities raised concerns over its use to generate sexually explicit and non-consensual manipulated images, including content involving women and minors.

The European Union has taken a broader regulatory approach. Under the Digital Services Act, online platforms are required to minimise risks of exposing users, including children and young people, to illegal and harmful content.

The EU has also introduced restrictions under its AI regulatory framework targeting certain harmful AI practices. Provisions concerning the generation or manipulation of non-consensual intimate material and child sexual abuse material are set to apply from December 2, 2026.

For Uganda, these approaches illustrate how AI tools, regulation and platform-level controls can be combined to address harmful online content, particularly material that could expose children to adult content.

However, the specific system UCC intends to procure, its cost, the categories of content it will target and when it will be deployed have not yet been disclosed.