[kictanet] Breaking News: Kenyan Internet Community comes face to face with new Legislation

[Solomon Mburu]

Morning! I'Ve seen in today's Nation's editorial that the so called
media law is set to undergo some amendments. Could we, in the IT
sector, explore a way of injecting what suits us in such an opening
window?  Just my thoughts.

On 08/05/2009, Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu at gmail.com> wrote:
> Walu, I do concur with you, the heated debate today, means that the
> silence from the IT Sector on this regulation while the media was
> making noise is due to some intelligent fear, in my opinion.  Can
> KICTANET do some sort of advocacy on this crucial matter, whose
> outcomes  can be directed to KENIC for further direction and guidance.
> I see a conflict of interest emanating when CCK is given the mandate
> of awarding the TLDs by law. Time might get us with pants down,
> literary! Mburu
>
> On 08/05/2009, John Walubengo <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> Apologies for cross-posting:
>>
>> It took a KENIC (KEnya Network Information Center, www.kenic.or.ke)
>> Annual
>> General Meeting for the Kenyan Internet community to digest the
>> implication
>> of the a Kenyan ICT Legislation passed more than five months ago.  The
>> law
>> which included sections that touched on the Media, IT, Telecommunication
>> and
>> Postal Services has faced stiff resistance from the Media fraternity
>> while
>> the Internet Community kept a low if not a dead profile.
>>
>>
>>
>> It was at the KENIC general meeting held today in Nairobi that the
>> Internet
>> Community grappled with the implication of the IT section on the
>> operation
>> of the .KE namespace.  The law specifies that all second level .KE
>> internet
>> domain names must be licensed by the country's converged Regulator,
>> Communication Commission of Kenya.  The law requires that all Registries
>> -
>> those who manage the internet domains - must apply for a license by the
>> 2nd
>> of June 2009.
>>
>>
>>
>> KENIC, a public-private-partnership has under the ICANN Policies been
>> managing the .KE namespace including the 2nd level sub-domains such as
>> xyz.CO.KE, xyz.OR.KE, etc. From 2nd June 2009, KENIC must seek permission
>> from the Regulator to continue managing these sub-domains.  In an effort
>> to
>> comply with the law, the KENIC Board requested the community to support a
>> resolution that a new legal entity (Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV) be
>> created
>> in order to apply for the license from the Regulator as well as compete
>> with
>> other potential entities that are set to fight in that space.
>>
>>
>>
>> The proposals opened up heated discussions with some members wondering if
>> KENIC was ceding its hard-won rights & control over the .KE namespace to
>> an
>> exclusive and single entity.  The current governance structure for KENIC
>> provides for a Multistakeholder Partnership over the whole .KE namespace
>> and
>> has the Govt, Academia, Private Sector/Telcos and Civil Society Board
>> Representation that is wholly accountable to Internet Users during Annual
>> General Meetings.  Effectively, the new law takes part of this mandate
>> and
>> places it under one or two of these Stakeholders that is the
>> Regulator/Govt.
>>
>>
>>
>> Members wondered about the criteria that would be used by the Regulator
>> to
>> award the management licenses to various competitors. Others wondered
>> about
>> the potential conflict between the local legislation and the ICANN
>> policies
>> given that KENIC has currently been operating under ICANN policies but
>> now
>> has to take cognizance of the local law.  For example, if the Regulator
>> granted a license to someone else to manage the "co.ke" subdomain BUT the
>> local internet community for one reason or the other instructed the KENIC
>> Board NOT to accept and transfer the delegation from KENIC how would that
>> be
>> resolved? And yet other members wondered to what extend the proposed SPV
>> would cannibalize their existing markets and services.
>>
>>
>>
>> It has taken five months of silence but clearly, the Kenyan Internet
>> community is just beginning to understand and feel the heat of some
>> sections
>> in the ICT law that had previously been hijacked and labeled "Media law"
>> at
>> the expense of IT practitioners.  It will be interesting to see how this
>> plays out before and after the 2nd of June 2009 - the date when all
>> subdomain managers must be licensed by the Regulator.
>>
>>
>>
>> walu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all
> the same way to the side of a hill!
>


-- 
Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all
the same way to the side of a hill!