[kictanet] KICA Amendment- Regulation of Social Media

kanini mutemi kaninimutemi at gmail.com
Wed Oct 23 14:05:45 EAT 2019


Are we worried about the definition of ‘social media platform’

The amendment proposes that for a social media platform to ‘operate’ in
Kenya, they must seek a license. To get the license, they will have to
comply with some obligations eg having an office in Kenya.


On Wed, 23 Oct 2019 at 13:44, Mildred Achoch <mildandred at gmail.com> wrote:

> I think posting on Twitter is covered under the term microblogging. My
> follow up question then is: does this include retweeting or liking someone
> else's tweet? If someone from another country criticizes a leader in Kenya,
> then I retweet this 280 character criticism, have I carried out the action
> of "blogging"?
>
> Regards,
> Mildred.
>
>
> On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, kanini mutemi <kaninimutemi at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> @Mildred,
>>
>> Thanks for starting us off.
>>
>> Would you say someone posting on Twitter (280 characters) would also fall
>> under the broad definition of blogger? Drawing this from ‘*writing on
>> social media platforms*’
>>
>> On Wed, 23 Oct 2019 at 13:21, Mildred Achoch <mildandred at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Listers,
>>>
>>> First, thank you for the opportunity to discuss this. I have very many
>>> initial thoughts but let me begin with the definition of blogging. I think
>>> it is important to look at the history of blogging as this will expand the
>>> definition of the term beyond just news items. On the ground, many bloggers
>>> like myself don't even concern themselves with news. For example, I have a
>>> poetry blog that is largely inactive but is still a "LOG" of my previous
>>> creative activities.
>>>
>>> Wikipedia has outlined what a blog is:
>>> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
>>>
>>> If we are to follow the definition of blogging that is outlined in this
>>> bill, does it mean then that blogs which do not deal with news will be
>>> exempt? If a blog deals with the history of Kenya, is this still news or
>>> not? What about satire based on news items? Parody? Memes?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Mildred Achoch.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, kanini mutemi via kictanet <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Good morning Listers,
>>>>
>>>> As GG had alerted us last week, there is a bill before the National
>>>> Assembly that seeks to amend the Kenya Information and Communication Act by
>>>> including a part on Regulation of Social Media.
>>>>
>>>> I will lead us on a discussion on this Bill.
>>>>
>>>> Between 2016 to date, we have seen many attempts to regulate social
>>>> media conduct. Interestingly, one such attempt, the Computer Misuse and
>>>> Cybercrimes Act, where many of its sections on regulation of social media,
>>>> have been suspended is coming up for hearing today. Now we tackle yet
>>>> another attempt to ‘fix’ social media.
>>>>
>>>> To start with, I will post the definitions proposed in the bill of the
>>>> word ‘social media platform’ and ‘blogging’:
>>>>
>>>> "*blogging" means collecting, writing, editing and presenting of news
>>>> or news articles in social media platforms or in the internet;*
>>>>
>>>> *"social media platforms" includes online publishing and discussion,
>>>> media sharing, blogging, social networking, document and data sharing
>>>> repositories, social media applications, social bookmarking and widgets;*
>>>>
>>>> What are your initial thoughts? What ‘problem’ is Hon. Injendi trying
>>>> to fix with this bill? Who will fall under those definitions? Contributions
>>>> are welcome.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel!
>>> http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>> *Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel!
> http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com
>
>
>
> --
*Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
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