It all started in August when the CA proposed that anyone who was found sharing or viewing pornographic material would face a KSh 25 million fine or would end up in jail for 25 years. It sounds a little too harsh, right? However, the reason why this particular bill was/is a hard one to pass is because it violates the freedom of expression and right to privacy. Most people who watch porn don’t exactly walk around with a sticker on their forehead written “I watch porn” it’s an activity that is done in silence, and people choose to watch their pornographic material very discreetly even to the extent of going incognito. Could it be turned into law? Of course, there’s a Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes amendment bill that governs how such matters are handled and currently, the penalties for promoting pornography is KSh 5 million and the jail term is 10 years. The Cybercrimes Act makes it clear that it’s illegal to produce pornography in Kenya but does not say anything about the sharing or viewing of pornographic material. We suspect that the proposed law would also protect affluent politicians who have been on the wrong side of social media whenever their scandalous sex videos leak, would this law protect them? “The clause suppresses freedom of conscience and consumer rights on what adults may watch in the privacy of their homes,” CA said in its petition to the National Assembly committee on ICT. Does the bill have any chance of being passed? The bill was rejected by the ICT committee which then means that a second reading has to be done then the final decision will be made. If the bill is passed, it would mean that if anyone is found with any pornographic material you could land yourself in jail, the question we would all have though is how the government would know who has it or who doesn’t, does that mean they would be allowed to go through people’s data? According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Freedoms and rights of individuals if this was passed it would allow the State powers to violate the basic right to privacy. Additionally, the bill is described as part of an effort by the State to curb online recruitment of youth groups linked to terrorism and protect children from pornographic sites. This is in the wake of increased access to the internet.
