Kenya’s The Star reports that the country’s Information PS, Bitange Ndemo, has called on the communications industry to stand against a set of new regulations as proposed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
According to the report these regulations include a shift of Internet governance from the current open multi-stakeholder model and the offer of more control to individual governments.
The regulatory body also wants content providers to pay telecoms operators for the use of their infrastructure.
PS Ndemo believes the proposals would not only undermine the freedom of the Net, but would also be costly to consumers who would have to pay for the use of networks, writes the Star.
“If you allow any government one inch of controlling your freedom, it will take up ten kilometers before you realize. And if you were to regain the freedom, it will never be the ten kilometers you ceded. The developing world will most be affected as most of the content that we need today is out there. We have not developed enough local content,” Ndemo is quoted as saying.
The concern is that the proposed new regulation will hamper innovation within the country.
Kenya is represented at the forthcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications, being held in Dubai, and the publication reports that a decision on the motion is expected to be made on December 12.
Staff Writer
