What do you call willful and repeated harm through the use of electronic devices? Cyberbullying. It is a common practice today because, in our digital environment, cruelty is likely to occur with or without an aggressor’s specific intent to make it repetitive or focused upon a less powerful target.
We all have seen it too: a user’s tweet or Facebook comment has at one time been stretched beyond the initial posting. However, examining the intent of harm, intentional repetition and power has been a challenge in the digital space. The challenge springs from general online interactions that lack ordinary nuances in communication, hence are hard to judge.
The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) hosted several executives in the ICT space to explore the menace that is cyber-bullying and general cybersecurity cases. From the forum, it was reported that more than 50 per cent of children experience various forms of cyber malpractice, yet they are the fastest growing online demography.
The meet further revealed that the Government of Kenya is developing a Cybersecurity Framework, although no additional details were given because the forum was mainly discussing cyber-bullying.
It is also worth noting that all cases of cyberbullying are handled and investigated by the DCI Kenya using evidence-based approaches.
So you ask, what do you do when you confidently feel that someone or people are bullying you online? Quite simple, actually, because the National KE-CIRT/CC website has a portal to do just that, and this is how you do it:
- First of all, you need to visit the site here.
- A few lines down the page, you will see a ‘Report An Incident’ option.
- Click on ‘Report.’
- The next is filled with spaces that should be populated with details about your case, including name, organization, contact address, subject (could be abusive content) and an area for a remark.
- Click ‘submit’ to send your complaint to the relevant authorities.
Alternatively:
- You can send a letter detailing your case to the Director-General, CA Kenya via P.O. Box 14448 – 00800 Nairobi.
- Report your case physically to the CA Office at CA Centre, Waiyaki Way.
- Send them an email at [email protected].
- Ring them using the following hotlines: +254703042700 or +254730172700.
Afterward, your case will be investigated and the team will reach out to you at a later date.
