[kictanet] Under what conditions should we shut down twitter, internet, radio, TV in Kenya?

[Warigia Bowman]

Dear listers

We need to take this seriously. We have a big election coming up, and given
the potential candidates, election violence is a real possibility.

We have an opportunity here to prepare for the deluge.

Under what conditions should we look at shutting down communication? What
level of hate speech justifies it? Who determines what hate speech is?
Should twitter be shut down before the election? or should we have a text
to tweet system, where hate speech can be filtered?

Lets crowdsource this issue!!!

Yours, Warigia

On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 8:31 AM, Song, Stephen <stephen.song at gmail.com>wrote:

> On 3 December 2012 16:11, McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Kivuva,
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 2:30 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com>
>> wrote:
>> > That is a very detailed and philosophical approach by Walu.
>> >
>> > Speaking for the mwananchi at the grassroots, if switching of the
>> > Internet and broadcast media can foster unity by preventing
>> > transmission of hate and unhealthy debates, then they should be
>> > switched off
>>
>> Perhaps you should ask the mwananchi how they feel about having their
>> right to communicate taken away from them in the name of "security".
>>
>> As Benjamin Franklin once said:  “They that can give up essential
>> liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty
>> nor safety.”
>>
>
> On the one hand I agree with that quotation with all my heart, yet at the
> same I think it is true that if someone had managed to shut down the radio
> transmitters in 1994 in Rwanda millions of lives might have been saved.
>  The Internet is an extremely powerful tool and as more and more people
> have affordable access to it, it becomes even more so.  Ben Franklin's good
> friend Voltaire said "Avec le grand pouvoir vient le grand devoir" (With
> great power comes great responsibility).  Figuring this out is going to be
> a long and complex discussion and I think it is unlikely that absolutes are
> the answer.  To me it feels like we need some kind of damping mechanisms
> for the Internet that slow down a technological decision whether it be
> censorship or otherwise so that humans can catch up with the implications,
> so that they can be dealt with in a process, democratic, negotiated, or
> otherwise.  It does feel like technology has run ahead of nation states and
> that more than anything we need more effective social and political systems
> that can cope with our multiple allegiances and identities these days.
>
> -Steve
>
>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>>
>> McTim
>> "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
>> route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel
>>
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>>
>> 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.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Steve Song
> +1 902 529 0046
> +27 83 482 2088 (SMS only)
> http://manypossibilities.net
> http://villagetelco.org
>
>
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>
> 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.
>



-- 
Dr. Warigia Bowman
Assistant Professor
Clinton School of Public Service
University of Arkansas
wbowman at clintonschool.uasys.edu
http://democratizingegypt.blogspot.com
-------------------------------------------------
View my research on my SSRN Author page:
http://ssrn.com/author=1479660
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