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

Wed Dec 5 15:24:18 EAT 2012

I think it would be easier to monitor coverage on TV than on Internet. My
idea is that there should be minimal coverage of political rallies on tv
and if the politicians/parties really want to be on record with their
messages, they can publish their rally coverage on the Internet.
Media owners to a large extent are letting us down as far as creating
cohesion and avoiding violence is concerned. There is too much importance
and glam given to political stories. Media is continuously disseminating
the clever but dangerous statements.
But the important point is not whether it is easier to monitor Internet or
TV but for someone to care about the fact that there are so many ordinary
citizens who are not on the Internet and to whom the political messages are
directed. On my way home I pass by a bar where many mjengo guys gather
outside to watch the news from the window. And their attention, especially
to what "Jakom" or "Kamwana" etc say is amazing. These are just "masafara",
not Kenyans on Twitter, Facebook who have the luxury of alternative
information or debate.
Will it not be hypocrisy for media owners to sign pacts of peace and
goodwill in election coverage when all along they promoted violence
(directly or indirectly)? Whatever happened to media and self regulation?

2012/12/5 Andrea Bohnstedt <andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com>

> Grace, why would you argue that political coverage on TV/in the media can
> be less easily monitored than on the internet? If anything, media outlets
> have owners and employees and should have (yeah yeah, I know) control
> mechanism to check for libel, hate speech etc. On the internet, it's the
> Wild West - it's incredibly difficult to hold anyone to account. And you
> can take any TV or radio quote from a politician and play that back to
> him/her.
>
> On 5 December 2012 10:51, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) <nmutungu at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Sometimes I feel as if Kenya is a unique case that requires tailored
>> interventions. For instance, with all due respect to Article 19, and while
>> we should never blanket shut down twitter etc, there should surely be a
>> fast response mechanism to inciteful speech online as well as broadcasts.
>> eg a Commissioner of Assize or a dedicated court so that people do not
>> continue to spew, retweet and disseminate hate speech.
>>
>> At the moment, there are already not necessarily hateful or incitement
>> speech but (clever)statements that are building up collective psyche
>> towards hardline positions. How long should we leave such statements to
>> ethics? Shouldn't we just black them out? The argument that we should
>> combat hate speech with massive "love" speech it seems, will not work in
>> Kenya unless "love" speakers get the resources that hate speakers have. I
>> get so concerned for Kenya every time I watch 7pm news......Can't something
>> be done to stem this clever speech that most people would agree is likely
>> to lead to hardline positions and God forbid, violence....For example, cant
>> media houses limit the duration/coverage of political rallies so that the
>> parties have to find other avenues for their messages eg Internet where
>> their content can be monitored by we the people (without the risk of the
>> parties/candidates saying, "I was misquoted")
>>
>> And most importantly, especially for March elections, there needs to be
>> some regulation of media reporting election results. For example having
>> media houses refrain from predicting or calling it (however obvious it may
>> seem)
>> And is current legislation sufficient? Maybe not (at least not the
>> National Cohesion and Integration Act) . And the circumstances are not
>> helping, since defining cases are yet to concluded/have been withdrawn...
>>
>>
>>
>> 2012/12/5 Victor Kapiyo <vkapiyo at gmail.com>
>>
>>>  Listers,
>>>
>>> I think the focus should not be on shutting down the Internet, tv or
>>> radio stations hence inconveniencing the entire nation and infringing
>>> everyone's constitutionally guaranteed rights while at it.
>>>
>>> There is sufficient legislation to deal with hate speech and related
>>> offences and media enterprises that violate the law, hence the responsible
>>> regulatory institutions should be focusing on how prepared they are to
>>> implement the law by investigating and arresting the specific offenders.
>>> Indeed before such drastic action is contemplated, the consequences need to
>>> be borne in mind.
>>>
>>> Victor
>>>
>>>
>>> On 5 December 2012 06:13, Baiju Shah <baiju at tele2media.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> There must be a framework within the Kenyan law that outlines what
>>>> could be done and not done?
>>>>
>>>> If there is a violation it is the right of the authorities either deal
>>>> with the immediately or the platform provider can comply to the law by self
>>>> governing as they do for all aspects in running their businesses. E.g.
>>>> Likes Google and Twitter have created in house expertise / legal capability
>>>> to build into their systems what one can do and not do by geo location.
>>>>
>>>> The governance / audit in Kenya now should be do they comply with our
>>>> laws? If not then they should be given 2/3 months to include a layer of
>>>> business rules that will include for the system / platform provider to
>>>> comply, where is KEBS :)
>>>>
>>>> Best Regard,
>>>>
>>>> Baiju Shah
>>>> Tele2media Ltd
>>>> Telemedia Africa Ltd
>>>> Tel. +44 7887691570
>>>> email: baiju at tele2media.com
>>>>
>>>> On 5 Dec 2012, at 04:46, McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 7:43 PM, Daniel Waweru <daniel.waweru at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> > One case, at least, strikes me as obvious: if you have good reason to
>>>> think
>>>> > that broadcasting material would lead to a direct threat to the
>>>> safety of
>>>> > some other person, then there's good reason not to broadcast it.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> That is true, but that is an editorial judgement on the part of the
>>>> media house/radio station/newspaper.
>>>>
>>>> If they violate the law, then there MUST be consequences.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> If there's
>>>> > a means of communication which persistently puts out stuff that meets
>>>> that
>>>> > standard, then there's a pretty good case for shutting it down.
>>>>
>>>> if it is a single radio station for example, then yes, a court could
>>>> find them in violation of the law and order them to cease.
>>>>
>>>> That doesn't mean ALL radio stations should be shutdown.
>>>>
>>>> that's is my 2 bob anyway.
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> McTim
>>>> "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
>>>> route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> kictanet mailing list
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>>
>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/baiju%40tele2media.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.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> kictanet mailing list
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>>
>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/vkapiyo%40gmail.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.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Victor Kapiyo, LL.B
>>>
>>> ====================================================
>>> *“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” Zig
>>> Ziglar*
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>>
>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/nmutungu%40gmail.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.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu)
>> Kenya
>> Skype: gracebomu
>> Twitter: @Bomu
>> Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> kictanet mailing list
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>>
>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/andrea.bohnstedt%40ratio-magazine.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.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
> Publisher
>
> www.ratio-magazine.com
> www.africa-assets.com
>
>
>
>
>

-- 
Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu)
Kenya
Skype: gracebomu
Twitter: @Bomu
Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20121205/ed408223/attachment.htm>