In a significant development, the High Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application by Paradigm Initiative (PIN) to join a high-profile data protection case as an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court).
The ruling came in a petition filed against X Corp (formerly Twitter) and several government bodies. They include the Attorney General, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), the National Cohesion & Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).
The petitioner, Felix Kibet, is seeking orders to compel X Corp to delete user accounts with unofficial names, remove objectionable content, and require the government to ensure social media platforms comply with the constitution.
Paradigm Initiative, a non-profit focused on digital rights, sought to provide expertise on digital rights and anonymity. They argued that the case was of significant public interest and that their submissions would be impartial and enriching, drawing on their extensive experience in the field.
However, both the petitioner and the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) opposed PIN’s inclusion, arguing that the organization’s brief was not neutral.
The court’s decision was based on a key principle established by the Supreme Court: an Amicus Curiae must be non-partisan. The judge ruled that while PIN has the requisite expertise, its past actions and published reports, such as The State and Security of bloggers in Kenya, could be reasonably perceived as advocating for one side of the issues at hand. This perception of partisanship led the court to conclude that PIN failed the test of neutrality required to serve as a Friend of the Court.
In his petition, Kibet accused the Attorney General, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the Kenya Film Classification Board, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) of failing to discharge their constitutional and statutory duties, thus enabling X’s alleged unlawful practices. He claimed that the negligence of these bodies has led to the proliferation of harmful content on the platform.
Kibet called for the deletion of publications he believes violate the law, along with the suspension or deletion of accounts that use aliases or unofficial names. Kibet also highlighted concerns over X’s Spaces feature, which allowed unmoderated live-streamed audio conversations where any topic can be discussed using inappropriate language.