Refusing To Disclose WhatsApp, SMSs Will Cost You 1 Million Shillings Fine

Kenyans will face a 1 million shillings fine for refusing to disclose WhatsApp chats, SMSs, and Emails which the government believes breach national security if Parliament approves a proposed law.

The Statute Law Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2020 in Parliament has proposed to compel citizens to avail any information on their communication platforms on demand.

The Bill seeks to amend the Official Secrets Act of 1968 to make it compulsory for anyone who owns a mobile phone or communication gadget to provide information on persons and data that the State is pursuing national security breaches.

“Any person who owns or controls any telecommunication apparatus used for sending or receipt of any data to or from any place outside Kenya to produce to the Cabinet Secretary or any other person named in the order, the original or transcripts of all such data,” the proposed law states.

This will also include gadgets belonging to Kenyans that have been used in foreign countries to send information through channels like SMSs, emails, and WhatsApp to the country.

This push comes after the courts stopped the government from installing spyware on local mobile communication channels, citing intrusion of privacy.

The Communications Authority of Kenya had proposed that the country’s leading mobile network providers install a data management system to help detect fake devices.

Those who fail to provide the records or persons of interest to the security agencies risk a fine of 1 million shillings or a jail term of up to one year, underlining the State’s latest push to fight crimes such as money laundering, terrorism, and cybercrime.

Besides introducing the 1 million shillings fine, the Bill seeks to clarify terms used in the current law that was passed over 50 years ago to reflect the changes that match trends in the telecommunications industry.

Intelligence operatives are increasingly using secret surveillance programs to spy on emails and social media activity, and collect data on telephone calls. Currently, those who fail to comply with orders to provide such information face a jail term not exceeding one year.

The court barred CA from continuing with the project, noting that the work that the authority wanted to do could also be done by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the police, and KEBS.

The Kenyan courts, however, declared the move illegal, saying that it would amount to intrusion into people’s privacy, a decision that dealt a blow to the State’s bid to curb what it argued was a spike in cybercrime.

The CA raised suspicions with its letter dated January 31, 2017, stating that the purpose of DMS was to access information.