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AU Cyber-security Convention ignores practical reality
by Grace Githaiga 22 Nov '13

22 Nov '13

...Dr Isaac Rutenberg, an intellectual property expert, and his counterpart Lilian Makanga are quite concerned about the Draft AU Convention on the Confidence and Security in Cyberspace (DAUCCSC, or AUCC for short). Rutenberg argues that it is a sweeping Convention that would touch on virtually every aspect of electronic culture. Inside the 52-page Convention are lurking provisions for just about everybody to dislike.If right now you are asking, “What is the AUCC?” you are not alone. Indeed, a … [View More]

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Information Security & Public Key Infrastructure Conference 26th-28th November Safari Park Hotel
by Phyllis Nyambura 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

Listers, On Tuesday, 26th to Thursday, 28th November, the Ministry of ICT and COMESA will hold an *Information Security & Public Key Infrastructure Conference at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi*.* The theme of the conference is “Strengthening Regional Co-operation through secure Cyberspace”. * *We would like to invite interested members of Kictanet to attend the conference. The conference is especially useful for those in the Information Security area and financial sector. * *Registration … [View More]

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Safaricom Gears for Triple Play
by Ali Hussein 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

Listers This has been in the,works for a whole and now its a reality. I wonder how this will affect Zuku... Safaricom targets TV Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telco, plans to begin selling bundled Internet and TV services for on-demand viewing within the next 12 months, Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said. “We will provide aggregation of content and delivery of content,” Collymore told Bloomberg. “Certainly within the year, we could be playing relatively prominently in that space.” The … [View More]

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Safaricom accused of predatory pricing offers to settle. Will interoperability drive an mCommerce Revolution?
by Ali Hussein 21 Nov '13

21 Nov '13

Listers As Safaricom is in the news again accused of abusing its market power, this time in the mobile money space I think we should now start asking the tough questions:- Should Regulators force interoperability in the Mobile Money & Banking space? Will it spur more usage beyond the normal money transfer services towards a truly seamless and well oiled mcommerce revolution? What are the implications of this if at all the Regulator has the foresight and muscle to force this? How … [View More]

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A good piece by Dr. Bitange Ndemo
by Dorcas Muthoni 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

A good piece by Dr. Bitange Ndemo *We must be more pragmatic to resolve Kenya's high unemployment* http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/blogs/dot9/-/1959700/2077756/-/oodsogz/-/index… -- Muthoni My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------- Mahatma Gandhi once said:- First they ignore you, Then they laugh at you, Then they fight you, AND THEN YOU WIN!!!

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Lions go digital: The Internet’s transformative potential in Africa
by Ali Hussein 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

Listers Interesting article. Following a decade of rapid urbanization and strong economic growth, Africa is going digital. While just 16 percent of the continent’s one billion people are online, that picture is changing rapidly. Evidence of what is to come can already be seen in Africa’s major cities, where consumers have greater disposable income, more than half have Internet-capable devices, and 3G networks are up and running. Significant infrastructure investment—for example, increased … [View More]

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ARE WE ROLLING BACK THE ICT GAINS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS?
by Ali Hussein 20 Nov '13

20 Nov '13

Listers I little bird mentioned to me today that the ICT Ministry is about to sign the ITRs that Kenya declined to back in Dec 2012. As a member of the delegation that went to Dubai we fought hard to ensure that we didn't sign and that there was adequate representation across Government and the private sector. There were pre consultations both off and online and the CCK actively engaged with other stakeholders. Ultimately there were divergent views and the head of delegation declined to sign … [View More]

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FW: [africs-ig] APC is hiring: GISWatch Coordinator
by Grace Githaiga 19 Nov '13

19 Nov '13

Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:12:06 +0200 From: emilar(a)apc.org To: africs-ig(a)lists.apc.org Subject: [africs-ig] APC is hiring: GISWatch Coordinator Good day, Please distribute widely. The successful candidate will join APC’s Communication and Information Policy Programme (CIPP) team as coordinator for Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), a premier platform for civil society perspectives on the state of the Information Society at … [View More]

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Fwd: [Chapter-delegates] Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of IPR Provisions in TPP Agreement Draft
by Barrack Otieno 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wende Cover <cover(a)isoc.org> Date: Mon, Nov 18, 2013 at 6:44 PM Subject: [Chapter-delegates] Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of IPR Provisions in TPP Agreement Draft To: "chapter-delegates(a)elists.isoc.org" <chapter-delegates(a)elists.isoc.org> Internet Society Expresses Concern over Impact of Intellectual Property Rights Provisions in Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) Draft The Internet Society is … [View More]concerned that the global Internet may be harmed if countries adopt Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) provisions contained in the recently leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) draft. We do not believe that these provisions are consistent with basic principles of transparency, due process, accountability, proportionality and the rule of law. The leaked TPP Agreement is a complex set of rights and principles related to IPR and we believe that the current draft reflects a disproportionate balance of rights in favor of intellectual property owners. In addition to other issues, these provisions could also have important consequences for online privacy, a critical dimension in light of heightened awareness worldwide about the importance of protecting the privacy and security of end-users. In particular, with respect to intermediary liability, some of the articles appear to assign new levels of responsibility to private entities and create an environment where content will be subject to extensive filtering. Some draft provisions would impose an unparalleled set of conditions on intermediaries that would allow them to escape liability and could ultimately lead to content blocking and affect legitimate speech and online expression. Such measures are neither new nor original; they have appeared in similar forms in other national or international contexts. On the whole, these measures have proven to be inefficient or unworkable. They have failed to adequately address the stated problems or to provide sufficient answers to the existing challenges. The Internet Society has advocated for intellectual property discussions to adhere to minimum standards of process and substance. In June 2013, we released a paper in which we called on the international community to apply standards such as transparency, due process, accountability and compliance to the rule of law to all intellectual property discussions that relate to the Internet. Similarly, we have been vocal in advancing these principles in various fora, including the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). We also joined other organizations (1) in a statement made in 2012, urging the negotiators of the TPP *“to make [the] process more transparent and inclusive, following the multistakeholder model, at least for those chapters of the agreement pertaining to the Internet.”* Throughout this process, the Internet Society has taken the position of not commenting on substantive issues based on leaked texts. At the time, we understood that the leaked texts provided only a snapshot of the issues while many provisions were omitted. The most recent leak, released by Wikileaks, appears to be the complete draft of the TPP’s Intellectual Property chapter and has made us reconsider our position. That we feel compelled to comment on leaked versions of the TPP demonstrates that these basic process standards have been ignored. In an era where the global economy depends on information and networks, we believe that discussions that affect the Internet and its users should reflect these basic principles of transparency and openness. Once again, the Internet Society calls upon the TPP negotiators to abide by standards of transparency as they complete this critical international agreement that will impact Internet users worldwide. We also urge the negotiating parties to reconsider the TPP’s intellectual property provisions and to ensure they don’t have a negative impact on innovation, creativity, prosperity and market participation. (1) The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), InternetNZ, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Open Media, Global Voices Advocacy and the International Federation of Libraries and Archives (IFLA). _______________________________________________ As an Internet Society Chapter Officer you are automatically subscribed to this list, which is regularly synchronized with the Internet Society Chapter Portal (AMS): https://portal.isoc.org -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/ [View Less]

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Welcome Ceremony & Presidents Opening of ICANN 48 - Argentina.
by Bob Omondi 18 Nov '13

18 Nov '13

Dear team, The official welcome and opening ceremony of ICANN 48 is currently underway in Argentina. You can follow remotely on: http://buenosaires48.icann.org/en/schedule/mon-welcome And choose what suits your B/W. Thank you and happy listening! Bob.

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