[kictanet] Week 1: Online Discussion on Promoting Internet Freedoms in Africa (November 11 - 15)

Thu Nov 14 17:45:30 EAT 2013

Thanks Lilian for this Internet Freedom Thread.

Hate speech is clearly defined in Kenyan laws and surveillance has been
high especially after the 2007 elections. However I am not privy of any
case where the government has tried to muzzle freedom of expression online
if the freedom was exercised within the confines of the law.

Section 29 of the Kenya Information and Communication Act is often cited
when hate speech on the internet is alleged to have occurred. “a person who
by means of a licensed telecommunication system a) sends a message or other
matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing
character, or b) sends a message that he knows to be false for the purpose
of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another person
commits an offense and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not
exceeding fifty thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding three months, or to both.”

The term "a licensed telecommunication system" seems to be misplaced since
if I used an unlicensed system, or a system outside Kenya, then I have not
broken that law.

This year, a Nairobi blogger was arraigned in court for allegedly
publishing in his facebook account content that deemed to set two
communities against each other.

On 14 November 2013 08:32, Lillian Nalwoga <lnalwoga at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Barrack,
>
> Thanks for your insights. I am interested on the aspect of hate speech in
> Kenya. Don't you think governments are using that term to curtail freedom
> of expression especially now that citizens especially journalists are
> getting to expression their opinions freely online.
>
> In Uganda, our internet freedom issues have been politically motivated
> with government interfering in ISP business - case of 'walk-to-work'
> campaign where government made an attempt to block access to facebook and
> twitter, then also the most recent where we saw government shutdown the
> Daily Monitor offices (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22599347)
> over allegations of a story featuring the president's son succession
> plans.  Btw, the Daily Monitor website continued functioning despite the
> shutdown.
>
>
This is interesting, probably it was just an oversight or they did not know
where to pull off the plug.

> I will be interested to hear more about cases of hate speech in Kenya that
> might or have led your government take action. Or any other cases in
> Africa, that involve surveillance, censorship and arrests on internet users
> as a result of submissions made online.
>
> Best,
> Lillian
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 13, 2013 at 1:46 PM, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Dear Lillian,
>>
>> Many thanks for this discussion indeed what we do online can only be
>> equated to what we do offline. Countries with Internet Freedoms equally
>> have an open democratic space that allows their citizens to express
>> themselves. Leadership is key in ensuring facilitating Internet Freedom.
>> Freedom comes with responsibilities, good leadership entails mentoring and
>> providing a general vision to the populace that enables them to take
>> advantage of freedom for their developement, this is what has happened in
>> countries that have freedom.
>> The challenge we have is to continue promoting responsible use of the
>> freedoms provided by the  Internet. In Kenya we have had challenged of hate
>> speech, in Nigeria 419, i dont know the challenges other countries have
>> faced, it would be interesting to hear.
>>
>> Best Regards
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 12, 2013 at 1:47 PM, Lillian Nalwoga <lnalwoga at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>>   Hello All,
>>>
>>> As described in the introductory email yesterday , we're glad to kick
>>> off discussions on this important topic, and look forward to feedback from
>>> the wealth of knowledge and experience here.
>>>
>>> We imagine there's a lot to say on the *Status of Internet Freedom in
>>> African Countries, *but let's start with the summary of Freedom House's
>>> 2013 *Freedom on the Net *report, which shows the status in some
>>> African countries - Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi,
>>> Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. As seen
>>> in the attached image (below), Sudan and Ethiopia are *not free*; Kenya
>>> and South Africa are *free*; while the rest are *partly free*. You can
>>> also see an interactive map of African (and other countries) and details of
>>> the measurement at http://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-net.
>>>
>>> With this background, we'd like to start Week 1 by asking for your views
>>> on issues of online freedom of expression. However, we'll also look at
>>> themes such as Internet Intermediary Liability; censorship and surveillance
>>> incidents; regulations, laws and policies governing freedom of expression
>>> online; and perspectives on the African Convention on Cyber Security. We
>>> invite you to look at the questions below, and please feel free to answer
>>> them directly or speak generally to the issues of the week.
>>>
>>>
>>> *We would like to here from you on:- *
>>>
>>>    1. What are the major issues surrounding online freedom of
>>>    expression in Africa or in your country?
>>>    2. What convergences and tensions exist between freedom of
>>>    expression and privacy?
>>>    3. What are the implications of approaching the balance between
>>>    freedom of expression and privacy from a freedom of expression–centric
>>>    point of view?
>>>    4. What actions can governments, civil society, media and the
>>>    private sector take to balance privacy with freedom of expression online?
>>>    5. What is the best way to empower users to stay safe online while
>>>    protecting their freedom of expression?
>>>
>>> Thank you for your contribution to this 4-week discussion, and please
>>> note that apart from the general introductory eMails and summaries we
>>> provide, we are reading through every reply and will provide a general
>>> summary at the end of the week.
>>>
>>> The summaries from the 4 weeks will feed into the final report which
>>> will be made available on PIN and CIPESA websites, and will also be shared
>>> with this list. For more information on the discussions, please feel free
>>> to refer to
>>> http://www.cipesa.org/2013/11/online-discussions-on-promoting-internet-freedoms-in-africa/
>>>
>>> We look forward to your thoughts on the questions above… and
>>> specifically, we'd like to know what you think about the attached map
>>> regarding the assessment of African countries in the 2013 *Freedom on
>>> the Net* report.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> --
>>> Lillian Nalwoga
>>> CIPESA
>>> www.cipesa.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.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Barrack O. Otieno
>> +254721325277
>> +254-20-2498789
>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/
>>
>
>
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> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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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.
>
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