Kenyan government moves to protect children online

ICT Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng (PHOTO: FILE)

NAIROBI, KENYA: The government has embarked on capacity building in a move aimed at protecting children online.

Principal Secretary, Jerome Ochieng said online child protection has become of great importance following the wide penetration of the internet across the country.

“We are working together with the Communication Authority and our main objective is to ensure that we continue to build capacity, awareness creation, and publicity,” said PS Ochieng.

He pointed out that as the country continues to have more applications online, increase its ICT infrastructure, and improve on the digital space, the biggest emerging threat is cybersecurity.

“We need to do a number of things, one of them is to actually see how prepared our people are in terms of managing this situation especially in the learning sector. That is where our young people are. We need to ensure that we are able to protect them,” he said.

He stressed the importance of raising awareness among individuals, especially the young ones on some of the do’s and don’ts when in the learning space and when on the internet.

This includes awareness of the risks that are associated with internet usage so that as they get onto the new space, they are cognizant of the threats that exist therein.

The PS spoke during a visit to Konza Technoplis by a team from the National Defence College, led by General A P Amagola. Also present during the tour was Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) CEO. Eng. John Tanui.

While also speaking on the country’s digital economy, the PS emphasized the need for reliable and resilient ICT infrastructure in the country, saying it is instrumental in enabling the sector to thrive.

The Government, he added, has been working on digital skills and innovation to support service delivery. “This ensures that as we have our services, and as the Government is digitizing, we have the requisite human capital to be able to support activities being undertaken.”