Good morning,

I have many thoughts on this but to be honest it is such a bad idea.

I see this bill as the continuation of attempts to muzzle free speech and freedom of the media online that was initially started by the state. In the past, there was a reliance on existing vague laws but some of them have been declared unconstitutional hence the change of tact. 

In the past, this kind of intimidation has primarily targeted influencers and bloggers but also ordinary online users have been targeted. To be targeted, all they do is just brand you a blogger, a loose term used by politicians & the media to refer to online users (and not just organized online content creators). In 2015, Nancy Mbindillah was arrested in Embu for 'insulting' the Governor. She was basically arrested for expressing her opinion on various operations in the County. I fear that this law will be used to target anyone who shares uncomfortable opinions or facts under the banner of 'undesirable content'.

The attempts to license organized online content creators (we can call them bloggers and influencers) is a regional trend with Tanzania charging $930 and Uganda having proposed regulations on the same. The basic idea, like in Kenya with this new bill, is to create an environment where free speech is punished and those who haven't registered under the regulations are also punished. 

The long term effects of this law is disastrous to free discourse and if you bring in the online media element, freedom of the media as well. In my opinion, as an online content creator and an official of the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), this law should not be allowed as it goes against fundamental freedoms and rights as guaranteed by the constitution. 

-----

James Wamathai | CEO, hapakenya.com

m: 0777-555101 e: w@hapakenya.com | Twitter: @Wamathai

Follow Hapa Kenya: Twitter: @HapaKenya, FB: fb.com/HapaKenya

On Wed, 23 Oct 2019 at 12:15, kanini mutemi via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Good morning Listers, 

As GG had alerted us last week, there is a bill before the National Assembly that seeks to amend the Kenya Information and Communication Act by including a part on Regulation of Social Media. 

I will lead us on a discussion on this Bill. 

Between 2016 to date, we have seen many attempts to regulate social media conduct. Interestingly, one such attempt, the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, where many of its sections on regulation of social media, have been suspended is coming up for hearing today. Now we tackle yet another attempt to ‘fix’ social media. 

To start with, I will post the definitions proposed in the bill of the word ‘social media platform’ and ‘blogging’:

"blogging" means collecting, writing, editing and presenting of news or news articles in social media platforms or in the internet;

"social media platforms" includes online publishing and discussion, media sharing, blogging, social networking, document and data sharing repositories, social media applications, social bookmarking and widgets;

What are your initial thoughts? What ‘problem’ is Hon. Injendi trying to fix with this bill? Who will fall under those definitions? Contributions are welcome. 

--

Mercy Mutemi, Advocate.

_______________________________________________
kictanet mailing list
kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/

Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/w%40hapakenya.com

The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.

KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.