[kictanet] KICA Amendment- Regulation of Social Media

Wed Oct 23 21:50:11 EAT 2019

Hi Listers,

I did an article over a year ago offering a technical view around how the
government can monitize social media... Full article is on this link.. and
excerpt below

https://www.predictiveanalytics.co.ke/blog/big-data/facebook-key-take-away-for-our-local-context-from-mark-zuckerbergs-congressional-testimony/

 We hence need to figure a way of tapping the growing revenues that
Facebook mops from our market. The first step to achieving that will be to
institute a Data Residency and Sovereignty legislation that will compel
Facebook and other platforms to domicile the data generated by our netizens
within our borders.
Secondly it will be to model a taxation model that could be based on the
absolute revenues that Facebook makes.
Here’s a breakdown of how much ad revenue Facebook generated per monthly
active user across the globe in 2017 (excluding revenue generated from
Instagram and WhatsApp):

   - US & Canada = $82.44
   - Europe = $26.94
   - Asia-Pacific = $8.86
   - Rest of World = $6.15
   - Worldwide = $19.84

Kenya for instance falls under the rest of the world bracket and from the
latest State of the Internet Report by Bloggers Association Of Kenya BAKE
it indicates that we have an average of 8 Million active users on Facebook
meaning Facebook makes an average of over US$ 48 Million Dollars per month
from advertising in Kenyan territory this translates to Kshs4Billion

On Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 8:54 PM mwara gichanga via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> @Mercy thank you for taking lead on this very vital discussion
>
> Yes I do think its important to understand the intention of the bill and
> why Hon Injendi is pushing for it, to get a clear comprehension of it as
> misguided as it is
>
> Further the effects and ramifications of the bill include pushing the
> digital divide and exclusion deeper as wananchi specifically those
> classified as bloggers and social media platforms, will not only have to
> worry about issues of internet accessibility but also the affordability of
> its use, violating freedom of expression.
>
> On Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 3:08:59 PM GMT+3, kanini mutemi via
> kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>
> 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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>
> 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.
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
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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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