[kictanet] [isoc_ke] #KeIGF Online Discussions Day 6: Openess

Mon Jul 27 16:13:10 EAT 2015

Dear all

The net neutrality debate will soon land on the shores of Africa ...forcing
telcos to re-strategize.

Here is an article I had written awhile back which I believe is relevant to
our discussion

http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profiles/blogs/are-africa-telco-strategies-really-working

Kind regards
Mwende

On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 1:02 PM, Mose Karanja via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> This is a very interesting debate for me.
>
> *How do you balance Kenya's collective security with individual freedom on
> the internet?*
>
> The concern here is whether the understanding of security by the Kenya
> Police, Intelligence and Military is aligned with what citizens understand
> security to be.
> In an ideal world, things should work in harmony between these two centres
> but we don't live in an ideal world.
> The drifts in meaning/understanding call for an arbiter. A custodian of
> the rule of law and national values. You can't trust government - nor
> citizens - and that is why any country needs an impartial judiciary if it
> is to defend the social contract between citizens/citizens and
> citizens/governments.
>
> That is why our hope for human rights in the internet space will benefit a
> lot if judicial oversight for security practices online (and of course
> offline seeing how thin the line is) by government are protected and
> enriched by healthy civil debate on what the country considers as security
> threats.
>
> Moses
>
>
>
> On 27 July 2015 at 11:35, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) via isoc <
> isoc at lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
>
>> Ali,
>> Thank you for the provocative example. I have been getting that Whatsapp
>> Message but never considered it from a net neutrality standpoint. Although,
>> in a society like ours where we have a privitised version of almost every
>> service (education, health, transport...) would it not make more sense to
>> have people pay for the Internet services according to their needs?
>>
>> And still on the issue of openess, last week we had a long discussion
>> here about Equitel, and among the many things said was that it would really
>> make a difference if the service is open to other providers and platforms.
>> Would this be a good thing? Probably yes for all the entrepreneurs in the
>> ICT space and of course consumers...
>>
>> @ Liz,
>> I always get amused at how operators especially international ones define
>> their space in Kenya. While they would very much like to cooperate with the
>> State on issues of national security, they also want to maintain the same
>> level of freedom known back in their countries of origin. Tricky balance.
>> That is why most would rather have a judicial interpretation to requests
>> for information.
>> I think local operators are more cooperative...some even have programmes
>> under which they assist the state with aspects of security. I am sure you
>> have heard stories of thugs stealing everything from people but leaving
>> behind their smartphones to avoid being traced.
>> However, there is also an emerging trend of operators (both local and
>> international) volunteering what they deem as information that could affect
>> security to State agents without a request from the State.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>>
>> 2015-07-27 10:07 GMT+03:00 Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>:
>>
>>> Grace, Liz and all
>>>
>>> This is a pet issue of mine. Let me be blunt.
>>>
>>> Net Neutrality is not something that we understand. We think that it
>>> doesn’t affect us, its too foreign and is the preserve of busy bodies who
>>> have nothing else to do.
>>>
>>> We must address this issue and elevate it to the level of importance it
>>> deserves. The average African (Kenyan) doesn't really care about this issue
>>> because after all if he/she receives 'free internet’ through
>>> internet.org and other initiatives by the internet super powers who are
>>> we to say no? We just don’t seem to grasp the devastating effects of
>>> continuously being the net consumer of foreign content through social media
>>> and other avenues. If we allow this to continue then what happens to all
>>> our local content that will be ‘shut out’ of the net through people
>>> consuming ‘free internet’?
>>>
>>> Here’s a favourite Whatsapp message circulating for the last two weeks
>>> or so:-
>>>
>>> ‘HEY, I AM INVITING YOU TO ACTIVATE WHATSAPP WITHOUT INTERNET.THIS IS AN
>>> AMAZING SERVICE.NOW YOU CAN RUN WHATSAPP WITHOUT INTERNET.CLICK HERE TO
>>> ACTIVATE — WHATSAPPNODATA,COM
>>>
>>> Seriously?
>>>
>>> I’m reminded of a discussion I had with some friends a few weeks ago.
>>> And it goes something like this:-
>>>
>>> In a Market Place there are three key players:-
>>>
>>> 1. The Buyer
>>> 2. The Seller
>>> 3. The Product.
>>>
>>> So if you are not a buyer or a seller who are you? (HINT: YOU ARE THE
>>> PRODUCT) :-)
>>>
>>> So go ahead and continue to consume ‘free’ internet provided by the
>>> Internet Superpowers and think that Net Neutrality doesn't matter and post
>>> nonsensical stuff like your latest Facebook update:-
>>>
>>> RELATIONSHIP: ITS COMPLICATED
>>>
>>> And wonder why one of Facebook’s key metrics is ARPU (Yes, you got that
>>> right - Average Revenue Per User).
>>>
>>> Still think Net Neutrality is for foreigners?
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks & Regards
>>>
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> ali at hussein.me.ke
>>>
>>> +254 770 906375
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>> Skype: Abu-Jomo
>>> LinkedIn: http//ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>>
>>> On Jul 27, 2015, at 9:40 AM, Liz Orembo via isoc <isoc at lists.my.co.ke>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Morning Grace, all,
>>>
>>> I would say Internet in Kenya is still 'unregulated' when it comes to
>>> content filtering. I havent come across blocked sites, however, with the
>>> recent revelation of the Hacking team-Govt emails. We dont know what else
>>> the government has been upto.
>>>
>>> Last year vodacom released a transparency report, but no data was
>>> revealed because of unclear legal position.
>>>
>>>
>>> The legal position is unclear regarding whether or not it would be
>>>> lawful for Safaricom (Vodafone’s local associate operator) or Vodafone to
>>>> disclose statistics related to agency and authority communications data
>>>> demands.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.vodafone.com/content/sustainabilityreport/2014/index/operating_responsibly/privacy_and_security/law_enforcement/country_by_country.html#top
>>>
>>> Is it the same case with other service providers? and is it possible for
>>> us to seek clarification?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) via isoc <
>>> isoc at lists.my.co.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Listers,
>>>> We hope you are all well post POTUS visit.
>>>>
>>>> Due to the the national activities last week, we were not able to post
>>>> the last issue for discussion. Many of you had requested for a discussion
>>>> on openness of the Internet and so we shall tackle that today. You are also
>>>> welcome to contribute to all the other discussion threads from last week as
>>>> we gear up for the face to face KeIGF .
>>>>
>>>> The idea of an open Internet is the idea that the full resources of the
>>>> Internet and means to operate on it are easily accessible to all
>>>> individuals and companies. This often includes ideas such as net
>>>> neutrality, open standards, transparency, lack of Internet censorship, and
>>>> low barriers to entry. We seek to answer questions like: how open is the
>>>> Internet in Kenya? Is Freedom of Speech Online encouraged or it is
>>>> suppressed? Are there examples of blocked websites in Kenya?  How easy is
>>>> it to start an Internet business in Kenya?
>>>>
>>>> Should Internet service provider (ISP)  be allowed to speed up, slow
>>>> down or block lawful Web traffic from getting to where you, the customer,
>>>> want it to go?
>>>>
>>>> Should ISPs like Orange or Safaricom demand payment from content
>>>> providers like Facebook or Google because these content providers reap huge
>>>> profit from the infrastructure provided by ISPs?
>>>>
>>>> What is the position of the regulator on net neutrality? What is the
>>>> position of service providers in Kenya on net neutrality?
>>>>
>>>> Over to you.
>>>> Regards,
>>>> --
>>>> Grace L.N. Mutung'u
>>>> Nairobi Kenya
>>>> Skype: gracebomu
>>>> Twitter: @Bomu
>>>>
>>>> <http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> isoc mailing list
>>>> isoc at lists.my.co.ke
>>>> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Best regards.
>>>
>>>
>>>  _______________________________________________
>>> isoc mailing list
>>> isoc at lists.my.co.ke
>>> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Grace L.N. Mutung'u
>> Nairobi Kenya
>> Skype: gracebomu
>> Twitter: @Bomu
>>
>> <http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> isoc mailing list
>> isoc at lists.my.co.ke
>> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Mose Karanja
> @Mose_Karanja <https://twitter.com/Mose_Karanja>
> PGP: 0x1529552F
> <https://twitter.com/Mose_Karanja>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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/mwende.njiraini%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.
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20150727/699d400a/attachment.htm>