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

Wed Dec 5 15:46:06 EAT 2012

I think we are getting romantic about the internet and ignoring that it is
just another communication medium like telephones, telegrams,
letters,newspapers,smoke signals etc before it. Shutting down communication
will only foster a black market where the same will be traded. It will be
more expensive but it will exist. Information will flow, slower and more
distorted but it will flow.

It is not impossible to track down hate speakers. No-one is an island.
Someone always knows something. As was witnessed by the Rwandans during
their genocide and closer home during the PEV, the efficacy of mass media
fanning violence is very real. But the internet is different. It is not
passive. Shutting down media houses is fine. Shutting down the internet is
not.

On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 2:40 PM, Andrea Bohnstedt <
andrea.bohnstedt at ratio-magazine.com> wrote:

> 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
>>>>
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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,
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>>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Victor Kapiyo, LL.B
>>>
>>> ====================================================
>>> *“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude” Zig
>>> Ziglar*
>>>
>>>
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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.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu)
>> Kenya
>> Skype: gracebomu
>> Twitter: @Bomu
>> Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu
>>
>>
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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.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Andrea Bohnstedt <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt>
> Publisher
>
> www.ratio-magazine.com
> www.africa-assets.com
>
>
>
>
>
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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.
>

-- 
Regards,

Mark Mwangi

markmwangi.me.ke
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