• Latest
  • All
  • How To
WhatsApp Encryption

Can Communications Authority of Kenya and NCIC Monitor WhatsApp Groups for “Hate Speech”?

January 14, 2019
Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenya Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 18, 2025
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025
whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
Infinix Smart 10 HD

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

June 16, 2025
Infinix Hot 60 Pro+

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

June 16, 2025
Aigov

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

June 16, 2025
multichoice-dstv-showmax

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

June 16, 2025
Huawei-Watch

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

June 12, 2025
Kenya-KICTANet-MindHYVE-ai-

Kenya Partners with US AI Firms to Co-Create National AI Policy with KICTANet

June 12, 2025
youtube-apple-ai

Creators Can Now Promote Videos Without Leaving YouTube Studio

June 12, 2025
Roam

Roam Launches New Electric Bike Built with Boda Boda Riders in Mind

June 11, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

Can Communications Authority of Kenya and NCIC Monitor WhatsApp Groups for “Hate Speech”?

Saruni Maina by Saruni Maina
January 14, 2019
in Editorial
Reading Time: 3 mins read
261
3
WhatsApp Encryption

Well, a month ago when I wrote a piece of how WhatsApp group admins in South Africa had been warned that they were legally responsible for the content that is shared in the groups, I expressed my concern on what would happen if the same law was extended to Kenya.

Well,it has happened. In an elections preparedness stakeholder’s breakfast meeting held today, Communications Authority of Kenya Director General, Francis Wangusi said that WhatsApp group admins will be held responsible for the “spread of falsehood and hatespeech” within their groups. Mr Wangusi said that group admins have the mandate to ensure that memebers of the group do not spread any form of hate speech, rumours or fake news.

“… We have identified 21 County WhatsApp platforms and we have indicated to their administrators that they have to take action before we deal with them,” said Mr. Wangusi.

It was also revealed that Communication Authority’s monitors had already started ‘doing their job’ and were monitoring telecommunications gadgets, social media platforms and mainstream media, looking for any form of hate speech.

Read More: Safaricom Refuses to Install Kenya’s Communications Authority Device Management System

In attendance, was the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) chairman, Francis Ole Kaparo, who said that the organization had launched a massive crackdown on offensive websites and other social media platforms.

A major concern however, is how these two organizations (CA and NCIC) will monitor WhatsApp groups without breaching people’s privacy. The truth is, WhatsApp messages are encrypted, according to their privacy policy:

We do not retain your messages in the ordinary course of providing our Services to you… We also offer end-to-end encryption for our Services, which is on by default, when you and the people with whom you message use a version of our app released after April 2, 2016. End-to-end encryption means that your messages are encrypted to protect against us and third parties from reading them.

However, digging deeper into the company’s privacy policy, you will find the following statement under the ‘Law And Protection’ section:

We may collect, use, preserve, and share your information if we have a good-faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond pursuant to applicable law or regulations, to legal process, or to government requests…

Also, I have to express my concern over a very vague statement within the privacy policy that says:

When we share information with third-party providers, we require them to use your information in accordance with our instructions and terms or with express permission from you.

The fact that WhatsApp is able to store (read preserve) messages on their servers and can share your information with third-parties, is what worries me. A report that was released recently, indicated that WhatsApp was ranked poorly when it came to user privacy.

The report indicated that WhatsApp failed to tell users about government requests to access its servers, the company also does not explicitly state that it prohibits third-party access to its user data, nor does it say that third parties are prohibited from allowing WhatsApp user data to be used for surveillance purposes.

Read More: WhatsApp Is Not Doing Enough To Guard User Privacy – Report

So, there is a possibility that the Communications Authority of Kenya and NCIC can access messages sent through WhatsApp and since they plan to “hold WhatsApp group admins liable for hate speech”, they must have a way to do it and my bet is, WhatsApp is in on it.

We reached out to both NCIC and the Communications Authority to comment on the issue and at the time of publishing, they had not responded.

My intention is not to scare you, but to make you aware that the government is not bluffing and you should be careful of what you share on social media and not just WhatsApp.

Group admins on the other hand, your job just got a whole lot serious.

Tags: KenyaKenya ElectionsWhatsApp
SendShare151Tweet95
Saruni Maina

Saruni Maina

I Google Bing until it Yahoos! | Email: [email protected]

Related Posts

whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
WhatsApp auto-download media quality

You Will Soon Be Able to Pick Download Quality on WhatsApp

June 10, 2025
whatsapp chatbots

WhatsApp Will Let Users Control Who Can Share Their Status Updates

June 9, 2025
whatsapp-iphone

Your Phone May No Longer Run WhatsApp After This Update

June 3, 2025
WhatsApp Username

You Will Soon Be Able to Chat on WhatsApp Without Sharing Your Number

June 3, 2025
whatsapp chatbots

iPad Users May Finally Get a Native WhatsApp App

May 28, 2025

Latest

Kenya's Government Censors X for Global Image

Abductions and Arrests! Kenya Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 18, 2025
drones-healthcare-delivery

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025
TikTok

TikTok Could Go Dark (Again) in the U.S. This Week

June 17, 2025
whatsapp meta ads

Meta Officially Brings Ads to WhatsApp

June 17, 2025
Infinix Smart 10 HD

Infinix Launches the Smart 10 Series Lineup

June 16, 2025
Infinix Hot 60 Pro+

Infinix Wants to Fit a 5,160 mAh Battery in the Slim Hot 60 Pro+ Frame

June 16, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Abductions and Arrests! Kenya Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

June 18, 2025

Rural Kenya Is Turning to Drones to Speed Up Healthcare Delivery

June 18, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenya Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

U.S. Plans to Launch AI Hub for Government Agencies

Multichoice Subscriber Numbers Drop by 15% As Kenyans Cut Back on Spending

Huawei Surpasses Apple to Lead Global Wearables Market

Kenya Partners with US AI Firms to Co-Create National AI Policy with KICTANet

Creators Can Now Promote Videos Without Leaving YouTube Studio

Roam Launches New Electric Bike Built with Boda Boda Riders in Mind

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.