Grace, Liz and all
This is a pet issue of mine. Let me be blunt.
Net Neutrality is not something that we understand. We think that it doesn’t affect us, its too foreign and is the preserve of busy bodies who have nothing else to do.
We must address this issue and elevate it to the level of importance it deserves. The average African (Kenyan) doesn't really care about this issue because after all if he/she receives 'free internet’ through
internet.org and other initiatives by the internet super powers who are we to say no? We just don’t seem to grasp the devastating effects of continuously being the net consumer of foreign content through social media and other avenues. If we allow this to continue then what happens to all our local content that will be ‘shut out’ of the net through people consuming ‘free internet’?
Here’s a favourite Whatsapp message circulating for the last two weeks or so:-
‘HEY, I AM INVITING YOU TO ACTIVATE WHATSAPP WITHOUT INTERNET.THIS IS AN AMAZING SERVICE.NOW YOU CAN RUN WHATSAPP WITHOUT INTERNET.CLICK HERE TO ACTIVATE — WHATSAPPNODATA,COM
Seriously?
I’m reminded of a discussion I had with some friends a few weeks ago. And it goes something like this:-
In a Market Place there are three key players:-
1. The Buyer
2. The Seller
3. The Product.
So if you are not a buyer or a seller who are you? (HINT: YOU ARE THE PRODUCT) :-)
So go ahead and continue to consume ‘free’ internet provided by the Internet Superpowers and think that Net Neutrality doesn't matter and post nonsensical stuff like your latest Facebook update:-
RELATIONSHIP: ITS COMPLICATED
And wonder why one of Facebook’s key metrics is ARPU (Yes, you got that right - Average Revenue Per User).
Still think Net Neutrality is for foreigners?
Morning Grace, all,
I would say Internet in Kenya is still 'unregulated' when it comes to content filtering. I havent come across blocked sites, however, with the recent revelation of the Hacking team-Govt emails. We dont know what else the government has been upto.
Last year vodacom released a transparency report, but no data was revealed because of unclear legal position.
The legal position is unclear regarding whether or not it would be
lawful for Safaricom (Vodafone’s local associate operator) or Vodafone
to disclose statistics related to agency and authority communications
data demands.
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