Request for Feedback: 5-Year Reflections on Kenya’s Data Protection Act.

*Dear Listers,*

*The Kenya ICT Action Network* extends gratitude to you for your valuable
contributions to the recent mailing list discussion on the *5-year
reflections of the Data Protection Act, 2019*. Your insights and
perspectives were incredibly valuable in the development of our Data
Protection Policy Brief. Your feedback has been instrumental in shaping our
approach to data protection.

KICTANet is delighted to announce that the *Data Protection Policy Brief*,
was successfully launched yesterday at the *NADPA-RAPDP Conference 2024*.
The contributors have been duly acknowledged within the data protection
policy brief for their valuable input, highlighting the significant role
you played in its development.

Hereby is the *link* to access the copy of the *Data Protection Policy
Brief* for your reference.
www.kictanet.or.ke/mdocs-posts/5-years-of-the-data-protection-act-in-kenya-2019-2014/

As we head into the weekend and upcoming public holiday, KICTANet extends
its best wishes for a restful and enjoyable break.

Once again, thank you for your commitment and support. Your continued
engagement is essential as we strive to uphold the highest standards of
data protection.

Kind regards,

Linda Gichohi.

*Kenya ICT Action Network.*

On Fri, 3 May 2024 at 09:43, Benson Muite via KICTANet <
[email protected]> wrote:

> On 03/05/2024 10.03, Mildred Achoch wrote:
> > Dear Benson,
> >
> > Thank you for the information. Perhaps hybrid solutions can be explored.
> > Language data held by the government could be considered a public good.
> > Language data produced by private sector, for example local radios, TV
> > stations and online content creators, could bring additional revenue for
> > the owners of the data. If compensation is embedded in the new models,
> > then this could even encourage more creation of local language content.
> > There is a great need for inter-ministerial collaboration.
> >
>
> Very few African countries have language policies. It is a sensitive
> topic, but of importance as it influences school curricular and
> government service delivery. The language users need to be actively
> involved in the process and adapt the technologies to their needs. A
> lot can probably be done without much compensation if people feel they
> will derive value. Perhaps the following quote from the economics of
> language [1] maybe of interest:
> “majority of Africans are governed in a
> language that they do not understand”
>
> 1) Weber and Ginsburgh, “The Economics of Language”
> repec.cepr.org/repec/cpr/ceprdp/DP13002.pdf
>
> > Regards,
> > Mildred Achoch.
> >
> > On Friday, May 3, 2024, Benson Muite via KICTANet
> > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>
> > wrote:
> >
> > On 02/05/2024 13.24, Mildred Achoch via KICTANet wrote:
> > > Thank you for this opportunity to contribute. Regarding the AI
> aspect,
> > > there should be some policies regarding the use of data that will
> > train
> > > AI. For example, in the case of local languages, which data will be
> > > used? If data by local language content creators is used, will
> they be
> > > compensated?
> >
> > Many African languages are poorly resourced, some are also
> endangered.
> > Language data should be considered a public good as it can enable
> use of
> > AI in many settings. It does also enable easier surveillance of
> people
> > that use that language. There does not seem to be a government
> policy
> > for local languages – even materials for school curricular such as
> > standard texts and dictionaries are few. Use of local languages at
> > county level is probably the easiest place to start as there would
> be a
> > sufficient concentration of active language users. Languages do
> divide,
> > but they also enable diversity in culture and approaches to problem
> > solving. While the ODPC has a role to play, probably the main
> > governmental actor is the Ministry of Sports, Culture and National
> > Heritage. The greatest widespread use of local languages is on
> radio.
> >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Mildred.
> > >
>
>