ICT CS Joe Mucheru criticizes NCIC’s plans to shut down Facebook
ICT CS Joe Mucheru has criticized NCIC’s plans to shut down Facebook during the August general elections.
The Minister for ICT Joe Mucheru has revealed that there are no plans by the government to shut down the internet during election day.
According to Joe Mucheru, the plan by NCIC to shut down Facebook is not clear.
“Media, including social media, will continue to enjoy PRESS FREEDOM in Kenya. Not clear what legal framework NCIC plans to use to suspend Facebook. Govt is on record. We are NOT shutting down the Internet.” Said Cs Joe Mucheru.
This came after reported plans by the NCIC to shut down Facebook within the next 7 days.
NCIC alleged that they had written a letter to Facebook urging them to comply with regulatory requirements in Kenya or get suspended.
“We have written to Facebook and requested that they comply with the regulatory requirements we put across. If Facebook fails to do that, we will recommend that Facebook services be suspended in Kenya.
“Facebook has seven days to reply to us, failure to which we take the action of suspension immediately,” Makori said.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) said the company was in violation of stipulated regulations even as the country prepares for the general elections.
A report by Advocacy group Global Witness and Foxglove published a report on Monday saying Facebook had run several political advertisements that are in contravention of the country’s ethnic cohesion rules.
The two non-profit organizations reportedly submitted ads to Facebook in both English and Swahili to see if they would pass the test. The ads spoke of beheadings, rape, and bloodshed, while some compared people to donkeys and goats.
Others went as far as containing profanity and grammatical errors. Surprisingly, the ads in Swahili easily made it through the company’s detection system and were approved for publication.
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