Members of Parliament has proposed tough fines and jail term for social media thugs.
The Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation proposed that riding on other people’s identities on the Internet and sharing obscene material on such social media applications.
Additionally, the committee further urged Parliament to criminalize such actions and those found guilty of the offence fined up to Sh3 million or three years in jail.
Any person who intentionally makes use of a person’s name, business name, trademark, or domain name used by any other person on the Internet without authority will be fined Sh2 million or sent to jail for two years if MPs pass the bill.
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Proposals of the bill are contained in the report of the committee on the Computer and Cybercrime Bill, 2017, which is being debated by Parliamentarians.
The bill, further seeks timely and effective detection, investigation and prosecution of computer and cybercrimes.
During the debate in Parliament on Wednesday, House Majority leader Aden Duale and Minority Whip Junet Mohamed told Parliamentarians how a woman has made MPs afraid of using their phones as she has been sending them her nude photos.
Junet stated: “I have been afflicted, I even have the pictures on my phone. We have been bullied, seduced and the careers of some politicians have ended due to cyberbullying.”
A report released in 2017 by World Wide Web Foundation cautioned of a worsening online bullying of women in Kenya after a survey revealed that one in five Kenyan women have reported online harassment.
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Online bullying, especially for women in positions of power or influence takes place through defamation or libel, stalking, falsification, fraud, intimidation, offensive comments, personal attacks, graphic violence and invasion of privacy.
