The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET), a grouping of IT experts, civil society and other professionals, argues that these segments of the Computer and Cybercrimes Bill 2017 infringe on fundamental rights to privacy.
KICTANET, whose focus includes pushing for reform in the tech sector, is also calling for the scrapping of provisions that give police powers to intercept the content for electronic communication.
IT experts are pushing for the deletion of segments of the proposed cybercrimes law that would force Internet service providers and telecommunication companies to hand over customer data to the police without court orders.
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET), a grouping of IT experts, civil society and other professionals, argues that these segments of the Computer and Cybercrimes Bill 2017 infringe on fundamental rights to privacy.
The Bill outlines conditions under which the police may obtain a court order to compel service providers to provide customer information.
However, exceptions are provided for the police to order service providers to “submit subscriber information” without a court order provided that they have “reasonable grounds to believe” that such information is necessary to an investigation.
“The provision violates the rights to privacy… it defeats the purpose of having a court process, provides an opportunity for abuse and cannot be remedied if the court order sought is not granted,” writes KICTANET in a memorandum to parliament on the proposed law.
KICTANET, whose focus includes pushing for reform in the tech sector, is also calling for the scrapping of provisions that give police powers to intercept the content for electronic communication.
The window for public submissions on the Bill closed on February 13 and it is now up to Parliament to decide the fate of the proposed law.
Firms that fail to comply with these police demand for information, with or without a court order, would face fines in the millions of shillings while their employees and leadership could also be prosecuted.
KICTANET proposes that the right to privacy only be limited in cases where there are ongoing investigations and warrants have been provided to police.
The Network also wants a provision on publishing false news dropped. The proposed law would see people that publish “false, misleading or fictitious data” which they intend to be considered truthful fined up to Sh5 million and imprisoned for up to two years.
KICTANET however says that this could be used to punish people sharing such information inadvertently.
“In a world where people are writing, tweeting, Whatsapping, texting or blogging every minute, it would be grossly unreasonable to expect them to verify the truth of each statement published,” says KICTANET.
The proposed cybercrimes law is meant to plug a gap in Kenya’s legal framework. However, it has been panned by human rights organizations for falling short of international standards on the freedom of speech and the right to privacy.
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