[kictanet] KICA Amendment- Regulation of Social Media

Wed Oct 23 15:06:52 EAT 2019

I see the comments coming in. Thank you.

Here is more to ponder on:

The Amendment will require that all bloggers register with the Commission
(Read Communication Authority of Kenya) perhaps on the payment of a fee.
Failure to register will be a criminal offense.

So *1*. *Licensing of the social media platform*
*      2. Registration of bloggers. *

I like the question Mwendwa posed. What is news. If I’m walking by town and
I witness an accident first hand- take a photo and break that information
on my Whatsapp Status or Instagram stories or on Twitter- am I blogger?
Will I have committed an offense?

On Wed, 23 Oct 2019 at 14:55, Mwendwa Kivuva <lordmwesh at gmail.com> wrote:

> According to the bill, "*blogging" means collecting, writing, editing and
> presenting of news or news articles in social media platforms or in the
> internet;*
>
>
> Anything that is not news is not a blog. The bill is defining blogging
> with the intention of regulating opinion on news. So that you would need a
> license to comment on any newsworthy event. Probably, the next question
> should be, what is the definition of News? Other questions are, if you blog
> fake news, will that also be blogging? Is fake news under the definition of
> blogging?
>
>
> *"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;*
>
> KICTAnet has a document repository for sharing policy briefs and reports.
> Does that make KICTAnet a  social media platform? Will KICTAnet need a
> license to operate it's website?
>
> On Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 14:05 kanini mutemi via kictanet <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> 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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> --
*Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
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