Editorials

EDITORIAL: Regulator’s plan flawed

CHAT

New modes of communication have become popular around the world.

Reports that the Communications Authority of Kenya is considering regulating online services such as WhatsApp and Skype are worrying.

The telecommunications regulator must tread carefully and should abandon the urge to spy on private conversations.

We opine that even security concerns must not be used as an excuse to embark on what would amount to a clear case of invasion of privacy.

The regulator is reportedly searching for a consultant to study and determine how the over-the -top services operated by social media service providers could be regulated.

It wants to have some measure of control like it does with traditional mediums like telephone calls and phone text messages.

The new modes of communication have become popular around the world.

Many governments around the world are worried by the popularity of such services but efforts to regulate the same have not succeeded.

Increased use of WhatsApp in Kenya has been blamed for the drop in the number of text messages sent per month per subscriber. Accessing user information will only drive subscribers to other mediums where their privacy is guaranteed.