[kictanet] Are Social Media Accounts owned by Public Servants Public or Private?

Fri Sep 16 09:47:40 EAT 2022

Hi All,

I wrote about this very issue in 2019 on the KICTANET website I guess you
can call me a prophet of some sort 'Your tweet my Right"
https://www.kictanet.or.ke/your-tweet-my-right-can-a-public-figure-block-you-from-accessing-their-tweets/
.

The article focused on a case in the USA where the then president Trump was
taken to court for blocking someone on twitter. The courts argued that he
had no right to block the person as he used his private account to relay
important public messages thus by blocking the person denied them access to
information.

I looked at the Kenyan laws as well particularly the Constitution,
the Access to Information Act Section 5 (2).  I also analysed situations
where public figures have blocked people on twitter or deleted their
accounts in Kenya. I also looked at how different political figures use
their private accounts and came to the conclusion that they use them to
relay public and important messages. Lastly I also analysed how other
countries have dealt with this situation particularly the USA.

My conclusions were that we can borrow from the USA where political figures
are required to set up public social media accounts for public matters and
if they use their private ones going by the court case they are not allowed
to block people and I will argue delete it. This may be seen as denying one
access to information.

More than happy to hear your thoughts on the article and expound the
conversation further.

Kind Regards

Tevin Mwenda Gitonga

On Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 8:37 AM Neema MASITSA via KICTANet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> It's ok. Noted
>
> On Fri, 16 Sept 2022, 08:16 simiyu mse via KICTANet, <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> Seems I may have been late to the party and started a similar thread.
>>
>> Please ignore.
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>> On Fri, 16 Sept 2022, 07:05 Ali Hussein via KICTANet, <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Egline
>>>
>>> I beg to differ. It was an official account disguised as a
>>> personal account. There was NOTHING personal about what was being posted
>>> there.
>>>
>>> I say that the Government needs an OFFICIAL POLICY on these issues. We
>>> have so much to rectify. To date, we still have Cabinet Secretaries and
>>> Senior Government Officials using Gmail and yahoo email addresses. This is
>>> a bigger issue than just social media.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> *Ali Hussein*
>>>
>>> Fintech | Digital Transformation
>>>
>>>
>>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>>>
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>
>>> LinkedIn: Ali's Profile <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
>>> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
>>> organizations that I work with.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 1:32 PM Egline Jeptoo via KICTANet <
>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Barrack,
>>>>
>>>> Interesting conversation. In this context the deleted account was a
>>>> personal account and not the ministry's account. As much as in they were
>>>> posting day to day activities, it was a personal account and the Ministry
>>>> account with previous activities and information is till active.
>>>>
>>>> Next question arising from the comments on the Tweet would then be,
>>>> with the Twitter accounts that are public property is it right to block
>>>> citizens?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, 15 Sep 2022, 13:23 Watoto Watch Network via KICTANet, <
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Barrack,
>>>>> I feel we might be a bit petty because...Is it a requirement in the
>>>>> first place to have a personal social media account if you are holding a
>>>>> particular position in Govt?
>>>>>
>>>>> Lillian
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, 15 Sep 2022, 12:55 Barrack Otieno via KICTANet, <
>>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Listers,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> An interesting conversation is going on on Social Media following the
>>>>>> decision by a Cabinet Secretariat to delete his Social Media Account. In
>>>>>> fact a Senior Counsel has already weighed in on the issue
>>>>>> <https://twitter.com/ahmednasirlaw/status/1570270811164151813?s=48&t=CanZRu7f1CrD5Bk23aQneQ>.
>>>>>> Is there merit in the concerns being raised or are we being petty?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thank you
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Best Regards
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Barrack Otieno*
>>>>>> *Trustee*
>>>>>> *Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTAnet)*
>>>>>> *Skype:barrack.otieno*
>>>>>> *+254721325277*
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrack-otieno-2101262b/
>>>>>> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrack-otieno-2101262b/>*
>>>>>> *www.kictanet.or.ke <http://www.kictanet.or.ke>*
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>>>>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
>>>>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
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>>>>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
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>>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
>>>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
>>>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
>>>> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
>>>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>>>>
>>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
>>>> engagement platform.
>>>>
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>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
>>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
>>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
>>> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
>>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>>>
>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
>>> engagement platform.
>>>
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>>
>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
>> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>>
>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
>> engagement platform.
>>
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>
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a
> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building,
> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
>
> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy
> engagement platform.
>
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