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Fwd: [IGF] SAVE THE DATE! IGF 2022: 28 November-2 December
by Barrack Otieno 06 Jun '22

06 Jun '22

Listers, FYI Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: IGF Secretariat <info(a)intgovforum.org> Date: Tue, May 31, 2022 at 8:44 PM Subject: [IGF] SAVE THE DATE! IGF 2022: 28 November-2 December To: IGF Secretariat <info(a)intgovforum.org> -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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The Effects of Taxing Mobile Phone Airtime & Data Bundles in Kenya in 2021
by Adam Lane 03 Jun '22

03 Jun '22

For those interested... or for those who disagree! https://blog.huawei.com/2022/05/27/effects-taxing-mobile-airtime-data-bundl… The Effects of Taxing Mobile Phone Airtime & Data Bundles in Kenya in 2021 ByAdam Lane May 27, 2022 In 2021 Kenya raised excise duty from 15% to 20% in a bid to generate more tax revenue. This affected both the cost of making calls ("airtime") and the cost of Internet (mobile "data bundles" or fixed broadband subscriptions), as telecoms network operators increased their prices to pass the costs onto their consumers. In this post, I look at the effect this has had on Internet adoption, how people use the Internet in Kenya, and broader economic development. The opposite of what was intended Recent statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, reported by Business Daily Africa<https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/kra-loses-sh7-billion-on-hig…>, reveal that tax collections actually decreased by 20%, instead of the predicted increase of 22%. Interestingly this is the opposite of the effect when a previous increase from 10% to 15% in 2018 saw tax revenue increase by a massive 60%. However, that came at a time of rapid growth in Kenyans getting online, which has now slowed, and it occurred during a period of economic growth. Despite a trend of prices declining year-on-year generally, the tax-inspired higher prices in 2021 came at a time of economic shock during the pandemic, which affected the earnings of many Kenyans and led to consumers limiting their calls and Internet usage. This in turn caused the revenue growth of telecommunications companies to slow and reduced tax collections. The reason for excise duties Excise duties are generally seen as "sin taxes" with the dual aim of reducing demand for products that have negative social or environmental impacts and generating revenue that can be used to fund activities to offset such negative social or environmental impacts. Typical excise duties cover alcohol, betting, or tobacco products across the world, though in Kenya (and many other countries) they have been applied for airtime and also mobile money transactions, even though these overwhelmingly have positive social and economic impacts. Indeed, they stimulate economic growth and create indirect social and environmental benefits. In fact, in Kenya, airtime and data have become the biggest source of excise taxes ahead of beer, spirits, cigarettes, bottled water, and financial transactions. This is in addition to multiple other taxes on ICT, particularly the burden of paying VAT (currently 16%, though it was reduced to 14% for a year during the pandemic). VAT is also applicable to electronic devices, along with a further 2% Railway Development Levy and 3.5% Import Declaration Levy. There is also a 12% excise duty on mobile money payments and various license fees on telecommunications companies. Negative impact Such taxes not only hinder usage, but can also stifle innovation and overall development, as growth in ICT usage correlates with economic growth. In a wide-ranging study, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)<https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx> found that an increase of 10% in mobile broadband subscriber penetration yields an increase of 1.5% in gross domestic product (GDP). The impact of mobile broadband is more powerful still in developing economies at 2%. Moreover, ITU economists have more recently established that higher mobile adoption also mitigated the most damaging economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ITU found that an increase of 10% in mobile broadband subscriber penetration yields an increase of 1.5% in GDP. During the pandemic, the ICT sector was one of the few sectors in Kenya that saw growth in 2020 (ICT was the second fastest growing sector in the economy that year), and played a crucial role in enabling Kenyans to work, trade, study, and get health information online. Yet in 2021, the telecommunications industry's growth slowed to 9.7% from 12.6% in 2020 (source<https://www.knbs.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Economic-Survey1.pdf>, Table 2.4) - the increase in taxation that came into effect from July 2021 is a likely contributing factor to this trend. As Business Daily<https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/kra-loses-sh7-billion-on-hig…> reports, "Safaricom said although its data income grew impressively by 8.1% to Sh48.4 billion (approx. US$411.2 million), the growth was dampened in the second half of its financial year to March due to the new taxes. 'Data performance in the first half of 2022 was weighed down by absorbed excise duty adjustments from August 2021, which slowed down industry momentum and price rationalisation,' Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said in the investor briefing." A March 2020 study<https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/resources/mobile-taxation-in-kenya-accele…> by GSMA<http://gsma.com/> reports that Kenya's mobile industry and consumers, despite being seen as a frontrunner in Africa, are one the region's most heavily taxed, inhibiting its potential to grow further and support other economic sectors. It states that while mobile market revenue accounts for 3% of Kenya's GDP, the sector's tax and fee payments account for around 6.5% of the government's total tax revenue. At the time, GSMA analysed the potential detrimental effects of a hypothetical increase of the excise duty on mobile services from 15% to 18%, finding that by 2025, tax revenue would decline by US$24 million, wider investment would decline by US$59 million, subscriber numbers would be 950,000 lower than otherwise, the sector revenue would be US$83 million lower, and GDP would be US$268 million lower. Last year in Kenya, the 5% tax increase led to a drop of US$63 million in mobile services excise tax revenue compared to 2020. Last year in Kenya, the 5% tax increase led to a drop of US$63 million in mobile services excise tax revenue compared to 2020. Increasing taxation on mobile and Internet services is a common trend in Africa. In Uganda, excise duty on airtime as well as Internet data is 12%, in addition to 18% VAT. In Tanzania, excise on airtime and Internet is 17%, in addition to 18% VAT. However, recent increases in mobile money taxes were watered down after public pushback, and in 2021 the Finance Minister proposed removing VAT on smartphones, "to encourage the use of telecommunications services to achieve the target of 80% of Internet users by 2025 from the current 46%." Hopefully the evidence from Kenya-and maybe similar evidence related to smartphone sales that may come out of Tanzania-will make countries think twice about whether and how they tax mobile services and devices, particularly if it may conflict their strategies for achieving digital inclusion or a digital economy. In fact, there is growing economic evidence that the social benefits of digital economic development and closing digital divides exceeds that of private sector benefits. Current best-practice in policy discussions is for governments to increasingly support digital infrastructure rollout and adoption through fiscal instruments. Slowing growth in mobile Internet adoption When COVID-19 hit in Kenya, there was initially an increase in mobile broadband connections (up by 8% from March 2020 to September 2020) and smartphone connections (up by 20% from March 2020 to September 2020), compared to their trend line of around 5% growth. But today, only around 60% of Kenyans use mobile broadband on a smartphone, with the high cost of smartphones frequently cited as the biggest barrier. The price of smartphones has not declined significantly in Kenya over the last several years, having reached a limit of how much cheaper they can be manufactured from their component parts. It might be that only variable costs, such as shipping, distribution, marketing or taxation can be reduced to make smartphones more affordable. Taxation must be seriously considered. Even as broadband connection growth stagnates, data usage is also very low in Kenya, with the primary limiting factor being cost. For example, Safaricom is the largest mobile network operator in Kenya, with around two thirds of the market share. Of their 33 million active data customers, only 12.5 million use more than 100 MB a month including 7.7 million who use 1 GB a month. These statistics are per month, not per day, which might shock many people who would easily use 100 MB a day, and in some cases, 1 GB a day. This is particularly noteworthy when the vast majority of mobile users do not have a fixed Internet connection at their home or workplace (though some may use data from other networks on a second SIM card), and thus this mobile data usage is their entire usage. Even though Safaricom and other operators are reducing data costs year on year, the costs are still too high for many, with taxation a key part of this. High taxation on airtime, Internet data, and smartphones is a critical factor restricting deepening penetration, faster growth, and the greater impact of broadband in Kenya. The result is that those who could benefit most from using the Internet - those in more remote areas, those who cannot afford transport, those without employment, those without choice in buying goods and so on - are unable to afford smartphones and unable to use as much Internet as they would like, and are thus unable to improve their lives, or contribute to overall economic growth. When considering taxation, it is crucial to identify an approach that balances economic growth, quality of life, and tax revenue. Further Reading * Introducing the "Gigabite" Index<https://blog.huawei.com/2022/01/11/gigabite-index-connectivity/> [article examining and comparing the cost of Internet connections against the Big Mac in various countries] * Why Kenya Needs 5G<https://blog.huawei.com/2021/09/06/why-kenya-needs-5g/> [article] * Youth & COVID-19 in Kenya: Why the Impact of Technology Was Limited<https://blog.huawei.com/2021/07/14/youth-covid19-kenya-why-impact-technolog…> [article]\

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Cybercrime is costing Africa’s businesses billions
by Lawrence Dinga, CISSP 02 Jun '22

02 Jun '22

Hello Listers, As the continent’s GDP reached $3.3-trillion in the past few years, so the cost of cybercrime climbed to $3.5bn, with Nigeria, Kenya, and SA recording the largest losses. Cybercrime is estimated to cost Kenya's economy some $300 million a year and the situation is running out of hand that the Kenya Government has asked for help from the FBI to train their Kenyan counterparts from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Financial institutions, businesses, and public agencies are the main targets of these attacks. Worse still, is the issue of investigation and presenting electronic evidence in a court of law. Electronic evidence is generally fragile and can easily lose its value not collected, preserved, and guarded in a proper and timely manner. Maintaining the integrity of computer-generated evidence is key in any court case involving electronic evidence. Integrity is the property of digital data not to have been altered in an unauthorized manner since the time they were created, transmitted, or stored by an authorized source. Proper procedures need to be followed to obtain evidence from a defendant’s computer in a manner that is legally admissible in a court of law. AWARENESS AND EDUCATION ARE KEY Regards Lawrence Dinga, CISSP +254 721 22 324 [image: Mailtrack] <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=sig…> Sender notified by Mailtrack <https://mailtrack.io?utm_source=gmail&utm_medium=signature&utm_campaign=sig…> 06/02/22, 09:47:17 AM

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Join us at RightsCon: Thursday, June 9, 9.00 am - 10.00 am EAT
by David Indeje 02 Jun '22

02 Jun '22

[image: RC22-General-Graphic .jpg] Dear Listers, On behalf of KICTANET, we would like you to join us at the 11th edition of RightsCon, the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age, it will be taking place from Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10, 2022, online and across all timezones. KICTANET will be hosting a session on "Building Digitally Resilient Social Justice Organisations Post COVID-19” Session ID # 15364 Thursday, June 9, 9.00 am - 10.00 am EAT, (2:00 AM- 3:00 AM ET), 6.00 am UTC. Your presence and support will be appreciated. The slots are limited, the early bird catches the worm. https://rightscon.summit.tc/t/2022/events/building-digitally-resilient-soci… *Kind Regards,* *David Indeje *_____________________________________ +254 (0) 711 385 945 | +254 (0) 734 024 856 <https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-indeje/>

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Happy 59th #MadarakaDay
by David Indeje 01 Jun '22

01 Jun '22

[image: Artboard 5 copy 4.jpg] *Kind Regards,* *David Indeje *_____________________________________ +254 (0) 711 385 945 | +254 (0) 734 024 856 <https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-indeje/>

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Data Protection
by Watoto Watch Network 31 May '22

31 May '22

Hello Listers, Human Rights watch has published findings of Virtual Learning apps that tracked and shared kid's online activities with advertising companies during Covid19 school closures. See findings; https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/25/governments-harm-childrens-rights-onlin… Regards, Lillian Kariuki (Executive Director of Watoto Watch Network) <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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Sim card swap: How Farah Bashir lost Sh2.6m to fraudsters in hours
by Victor Kapiyo 31 May '22

31 May '22

Morning Listers, In the news today: Farah Bashir is yet to come to terms with how his bank accounts were wiped clean by fraudsters, barely two days after he had landed in Johannesburg for a two-week assignment in February. He painfully recounted how he watched helplessly as Sh2.6 million was withdrawn by hackers in several transactions from his four different Absa Bank accounts between February 7 and February 9. Read more: https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sim-card-swap-how-farah-bashir-lost-sh2-6m… SIM Card fraud has been in the bees lately. The sums lost are pretty high. I bet there are many sad tales from individuals who've lost collasal amounts due to sim swap fraud. How come we're not able to contain this crimes? I wonder who's the weakest link here that needs to pull up their socks? It's really a big threat to our digital economy if we can't address this growing menace. Happy to hear your thoughts on this. Regards, Victor

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Mark Your Calendar: #KeIGF2022 an Event You Won't Want to Miss
by David Indeje 31 May '22

31 May '22

[image: Artboard 4 copy.jpg] Dear Listers, The 16th edition of Kenya's Internet Governance Forum <https://kigf.or.ke/front-page-features/kenya-igf-2022/>(IGF) returns from 27-30th June 2022. *#KeIGF2022* is our annual meeting that brings together various stakeholder groups to dialogue on ICT and Internet policy. The KeIGF has now become Kenya's Premier Internet Policy Forum that informs and inspires policy actors in both the public and private sectors. As you all know, IGF is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance formed by the United Nations in July 2006. This year’s theme is Resilient Internet for a Shared Sustainable and Common Future. Read our past reports here https://bit.ly/388SOyP This year is going to be great as we adopt a hybrid model for everyone to participate. *Kind Regards,* *David Indeje *_____________________________________ +254 (0) 711 385 945 | +254 (0) 734 024 856 <https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-indeje/>

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Re: [kictanet] KICTANet Digest, Vol 171, Issue 20
by Adrian Teri 31 May '22

31 May '22

Have just learnt that #mpesa agents can carry out #simwaps. The proposed law to register them now makes sense! Important to all to avoid #simswaps being carried out by #mpesa agents: dial *100*100#OK to stop any replacement from an agent shop > *https://twitter.com/BravinYuri/status/1531194495588524032?s=20&t=IJCyM8mwymIkC3TppBh_SQ <https://twitter.com/BravinYuri/status/1531194495588524032?s=20&t=IJCyM8mwym…>* #Safaricom CEO why is this not the default behaviour? If anyone wants to replace their sim cards elsewhere they need to opt-in NOT out! Regards, Adrian Teri ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Victor Kapiyo <vkapiyo(a)gmail.com> > To: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Mon, 30 May 2022 10:05:38 +0300 > Subject: [kictanet] Sim card swap: How Farah Bashir lost Sh2.6m to > fraudsters in hours > Morning Listers, > > In the news today: > > Farah Bashir is yet to come to terms with how his bank accounts were wiped > clean by fraudsters, barely two days after he had landed in Johannesburg > for a two-week assignment in February. > > He painfully recounted how he watched helplessly as Sh2.6 million was > withdrawn by hackers in several transactions from his four different Absa > Bank accounts between February 7 and February 9. > > Read more: > https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sim-card-swap-how-farah-bashir-lost-sh2-6m… > > SIM Card fraud has been in the bees lately. The sums lost are pretty high. > I bet there are many sad tales from individuals who've lost collasal > amounts due to sim swap fraud. > > How come we're not able to contain this crimes? I wonder who's the weakest > link here that needs to pull up their socks? It's really a big threat to > our digital economy if we can't address this growing menace. > > Happy to hear your thoughts on this. > > Regards, > > Victor > > _______________________________________________ > KICTANet mailing list > KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Big Tech now accounts for 57 percent of global internet traffic
by Barrack Otieno 30 May '22

30 May '22

Listers, Might be of interest. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: parminder via InternetPolicy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Date: Mon, May 30, 2022 at 7:48 AM Subject: [Internet Policy] Big Tech now accounts for 57 percent of global internet traffic To: parminder via InternetPolicy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Big Tech now accounts for 57 percent of global internet traffic https://techmonitor.ai/technology/networks/big-tech-accounts-for-over-half-…, , It is no longer the Internet, it is the Big Tech ...,, Maybe we need a 'Big Tech Society' policy e-list !? ,,parminder _______________________________________________ To manage your Internet Society subscriptions or unsubscribe, log into your member profile at https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/Entity/MyProfile, go to the Preferences tab and edit your email consent and general channels. Changes may take up to 3 hours to take effect. - View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/ -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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