Bloggers thrive despite State attempts to curtail freedom

Advances in communication technology in the 20th century have eased information transfer and made the world a global village.

As a result, millions of jobs have been created and blogging is one of the most notable ones.

Many people have come to accept blogs as sources of credible information and some bloggers have become so popular that they are threatening to overtake mainstream news sources.

A survey conducted by United States International University’s (USIU) SIMELab between December 2018 and March 2019 revealed that a majority of Kenyans (nearly three-quarters) read online blogs, with entertainment and education blogs being the most popular.

The survey sampled 3,269 respondents aged between 14 and 55 from eight counties.

Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), in its State of The Internet In Kenya 2019 report released last month, said that the average monthly income of bloggers in Kenya was Sh30,000.

The research showed that most men in Kenya read sports blogs, while most women read food and fashion content. Blogs account for a majority of local content produced in the country.

There were about 35,000 bloggers in Kenya in 2019, according to BAKE.

Many Kenyans own mobile phones and easily access the internet, which is a boon to bloggers.

According to the Communication Authority, the number of active mobile subscribers in Kenya stood at 51 million as at March 2019, up from 49.5 million at the end of 2018.

Mobile penetration rose to 106.8 per cent as at March 2019, the research showed.

Multiple SIM owners

Mobile penetration level of above 100 per cent is attributed to multiple SIM (subscriber identification module) card ownership by consumers who want to take advantage of the competing voice and/or data plans offered by various service providers.

As of December 31, 2019, the number of active mobile subscriptions (SIM cards) in the country stood at 54.5 million, translating to mobile (SIM) penetration of 114.8 per cent, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Social media use and adoption is on the rise: It was reported that there were over eight million social media users in the country.

The most common platforms in use in Kenya in 2019 were WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube.

In addition, the number of blogs increased as more content creators came onto the scene. That came with some negatives, nevertheless.

“The year was punctuated by a number of fake news posts and news stories, which were primarily spread through social media, especially WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

The spotlight was also shone on the importance of child protection in the digital age when a viral video of a young boy caused concern about children’s internet safety and cyberbullying,” the report said.

BAKE awards the best bloggers every year as they try to encourage relevant and ethical blogging.

And while their trade thrives, bloggers have sometimes had their battles with authorities.

The Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was tabled in Parliament on October 2, 2019 for the first reading.

“The Bill, which is a Private Member’s Bill, aimed to amend the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act by introducing stringent regulations on the use of social media in Kenya.

"The Bill was not well received by sector players and stakeholders as it was widely agreed that its very premise is unconstitutional,” the report by BAKE said.

Free speech

It added that seeking to regulate bloggers in the manner proposed in the Bill would amount to regulating the news, stifling free speech, and invading their privacy.

As such it would infringe on the constitutional provisions governing certain rights, namely Article 31, which guarantees the right to privacy, Article 32 which guarantees the freedom of belief and opinion, and Article 33 that guarantees the freedom of expression.

Also to be affected is Article 34 that gives the people freedom of the media, and Article 35 that guarantees citizens access to information.

“Also, the regulation of bloggers and social media in general creates a chilling effect on free speech and freedom of the media in the country,” the report said.

Increasingly, the youth are finding their gap in blogging, generating new content every day.

The competition means that the content keeps getting better, and that their creativity is being put to the test, helping many a talent showcase their potential in a space that was previously little exploited.