The Data Commissioner has put a section of Kenyans on notice over their latest deeds of sharing private details of certain individuals
Netizens on the X platform have been uploading phone numbers of police officers and lawmakers as they protest the Finance Bill 2024
The government agency warned them against the move, saying it was flouting the current constitution, in which the right to privacy has been stipulated
Nairobi: The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has warned Kenyans against distributing other people’s private information on social media.
The government agency said it had observed a recent trend in which information such as names, telephone numbers, locations and details of family members of a certain category of citizens were being shared on the platforms without consent.
Why Kenyans have been warned
According to the ODPC, the trend was flouting the provisions of Article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya, which stipulates the right to privacy.
It went ahead to caution the members of the public against the move. “In view of the foregoing, the office wishes to advise members of public to refrain from further sharing of personal information which infringes on individuals’ rights to privacy,” the ODPC’s statement partley read.
This came in light of Kenyans publishing the personal phone contacts of police officers believed to have brutalised the protesters during the anti-finance bill demos in Nairobi on Tuesday, June 18. Phone numbers of the law enforcers were uploaded to X, with users digging to share the details of the cops’ families.
