Members of the Senate have called for the reinforcement of data regulations in the country to regulate vendors selling phones under the instalment scheme, commonly referred to as 'lipa polepole'.
Speaking during a Senate proceeding on Tuesday, May 13, the Narok Senator, Ledama Ole Kina, claimed that some vendors of these devices are trading customers' personal data to third parties, compromising citizens' data privacy rights.
According to Ledama, Members of Parliament, led by the Senate, should step in and reinforce the Data Protection Act to guarantee the safety of a customer's data when they submit it to a phone vendor.
"We should be intentional when it comes to the issue of guarding because when you hear that those who cannot buy the phones in full price are buying the phones on credit and then their data is sold to another third party, it raises the question of what we really need to do," he said.
"It is imperative that when data is the most expensive asset anyone can have, we are not protecting poor people. I think the most important thing we need to do as members of this house is to ask ourselves how we can amend the Data Protection Act," he added.
The Senator has further stressed the need for telecommunication companies in the country to devise 'creative' ways in which they can protect customer data, especially during the process of money transactions.
Ledama has further called for the limitation of the number of phone numbers an individual can have to reduce swindling in the telecommunication ecosystem.
"We also must also ask ourselves whether we need to limit the number of phone numbers one can have, because you will find that one person has used his ID number to register more than 20 lines, and if you follow those 20 lines, you will be shocked because they are using them to do frauds," he stated.
On the other hand, Vihiga County Senator Godfrey Osotsi faulted data regulators in the country, including the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) and the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK), agencies he claims lack 'technology experts'.
"Speaking as an expert, I want to say that it may be an opportunity for us to have a relook at the entire Data Protection Act because this is where the inconsistencies are. I have noted inconsistencies even in the way the data protection office operates," he said.
Additionally, the Senator claimed that the CAK's move to increase spectrum licenses will drive out of business telecommunication operators in the country, which in turn will have severe implications for the country's economy.
Spectrum licenses are permissions granted by the CAK and provide exclusive rights to the holder for a particular purpose, such as broadcasting, mobile communication, or data transmission.
"At CAK, the Director General is a journalist, and the chairperson is a businesswoman who does not understand technology, and I think the IT committee must look at this issue of competence and leadership in this sector," he stated.
