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

Sat May 9 09:39:23 EAT 2009

Solomon,

In January, when we were discussing the Media aspects of the ICT Act members of the KICTAnet list voted(abstained) AGAINST discussing IT issues.  I had to comply but ofcourse that could be reviewed and arranged - if public demands ;-)

walu.

--- On Sat, 5/9/09, Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Breaking News: Kenyan Internet Community comes face to  face with new Legislation
> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
> Cc: "skunk" <skunkworks at my.co.ke>, "ke-users Internet Users" <ke-internetusers at bdix.net>, "afnog afnog" <afnog at afnog.org>, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Saturday, May 9, 2009, 9:39 AM
> 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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> >>
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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!