Kenyan Telcos have signed the Kenya Child Online Protection Industry Charter & have promised to focus on online child safety & protection in their business. The Telcos that signed the charter are: Safaricom, Telkom Kenya, Jamii Telecom and Airtel Kenya.
The Charter is also backed by the Communications Authority (CA) of Kenya and the Ministry of ICT.
The charter is part of the We Care Campaign by the 4 Telcos in partnership with GSMA. This campaign in the first in Africa and the second in the world after Latin America.
Under the agreement, the Telcos will work together with CA to promote the safe and responsible use of the internet and other ICTs via:
- Educational and awareness programmes
- Integrating children’s rights considerations into corporate policies and management processes
- Supporting government, law enforcement agencies, civil society and other stakeholders to tackle online abuse of children.
Measures will include providing capacity-building workshops for authorities tasked with enabling a support hotline for young citizens seeking information or emergency assistance on online safety matters.
As part of the awareness campaign, Telcos operators will collaborate with the CA to produce an information booklet targeted at young people in Kenya. The campaign will also be promoted via sponsorship of National Music and Drama festivals focused on online safety.