[kictanet] KICA Amendment- Regulation of Social Media

Wed Oct 23 21:57:19 EAT 2019

Thank you @Timothy.

Are there any drawbacks to your proposal?

@Mwara I think the purpose of the Bill is anybody’s guess at this time. But
there are clues hidden in the amendments that show some cleverness on the
MPs part. Eg:

*841B. A licensee may collect, use, preserve, and share information of its
user where it is reasonably necessary to respond to a legal process.*

This could point to the never ending thirst to make user information
available. This is not without severe constitutional consequences.

On Wed, 23 Oct 2019 at 21:51, Timothy- Coach- Oriedo via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> 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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>>
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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.
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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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>
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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.
>
-- 
*Mercy Mutemi, Advocate*.
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