OFFICE OF THE DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐘𝐀'𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘 Kenya's digital transformation is advancing rapidly, making the ongoing review of the 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐭 (𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐀) and Kenya's progress towards accession to the 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 important steps in strengthening the legal and policy foundations of our digital economy. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞, led by 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞, to engage on these and other critical issues shaping Kenya's digital economy. The engagement brought together Committee Members, including 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐔𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐤𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐫 and 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐄𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐮 𝐍𝐳𝐢𝐨𝐤𝐚, as we discussed consumer protection in internet services, the review of KICA and Kenya's progress towards the Budapest Convention. Also present were 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐭 and 𝐈𝐂𝐓 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐊𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐮 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐢, whose institutions are central to data protection and the delivery of our digital government services. The review of KICA is important in ensuring that our legal framework keeps pace with competition, innovation, emerging technologies and the changing realities of the ICT sector. Kenya's progress towards the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime is equally significant, particularly in strengthening international cooperation on cybercrime, electronic evidence and cross-border investigations, alongside appropriate data protection and national safeguards. On internet billing, the Government supports greater transparency and stronger consumer protection while preserving consumer choice and digital inclusion. Our approach is to strengthen usage information, quality of service, transparency and consumer safeguards without introducing measures that could unintentionally increase costs or limit access. It was also valuable to host 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐨 during the engagement, providing an opportunity for regional exchange on how African countries are responding to the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation. 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Kenya's digital future will depend not only on the infrastructure and technologies we build, but also on the strength of the legal, regulatory and institutional foundations that sustain 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. @MoICTKenya, @ICTAuthorityKE , @ODPC_KE , @KiarieJohn