Trust, Accountability, and the Citizen at the Centre of Data Governance

Designed for Whom? Trust, Accountability, and the Citizen at the Centre of Data Governance

Between 2023 and 2025, Kenya witnessed an unprecedented upsurge in civic action and mostly youth-led protests driven by severe economic pressure, the rising cost of living, the removal of essential subsidies, and increased regressive taxation. Rather than addressing these structural economic grievances, the state increasingly resorted to authoritarian practices, severe crackdowns, arbitrary arrests, unlawful surveillance, and media suppression to concentrate power and shield authorities from accountability.

This month, Kenyans learnt from technology company Anthropic that unidentified actors had been using artificial intelligence to create the appearance of grassroots political support ahead of the 2027 election. In its September 2026 misuse report, Anthropic says a pro-government operator used its Claude models to prepare fake grassroots social media posts ahead of the country’s 2027 general election. The actor generated batches of exactly 50 tweets at a time and explicitly instructed the model to make the posts look like organic commentary and not a coordinated campaign. 

Kenya’s non-profit organisations handle some of the country’s most sensitive personal information, including beneficiary records, health data, case files, and donor details, often without a clear path to legal compliance. This manual provides non-profit organisations in Kenya with a practical framework to bridge the gap between legal theory under the Data Protection Act, 2019 and real-world application. Developed out of a recognition that data protection is directly tied to the dignity, safety, autonomy, and trust of the communities served, this publication translates complex privacy laws into operational steps for non-profit staff.

As Kenya’s media and information landscape becomes increasingly digital, the intersection between data protection, media practice, and elections is becoming more important than ever. Journalists, media houses, regulators, civil society organizations, and digital platforms all play a critical role in shaping electoral discourse and safeguarding democratic participation.

Kenya’s Sexual Offences Act was passed in 2006, when smartphones were not yet in most Kenyan pockets, and generative AI did not exist. Twenty years on, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to bring the Act up to date with how technology is increasingly used to facilitate sexual and gender-based violence: through a phone, an account, a group chat, or even an image that was never real. 

A voice is a fragile thing in the digital age. It can rise in seconds, clear, bold, and determined, and be drowned out just as quickly by waves of insult, distortion, and threat. For many young Kenyans, this is not a distant reality; it is a daily calculation. Should I post this? Is it worth the backlash? Will I still feel safe tomorrow? These are the silent questions behind many unsent messages.  

In a digital environment where online harassment and tech-facilitated violence are used to silence voices, how can Kenya protect itself, support young people in others, and still find the courage to speak out for their rights and the rights of others?  

Post about a breaking news event, share an unverified allegation, or even repeat a rumor in a WhatsApp group, and until this year you could, in theory, have faced up to ten years in prison. That was the potential consequence of Sections 22 and 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, which criminalized the publication of “false” information using broad and vaguely defined offences. The provisions cast a long shadow over anyone with access to a phone or the internet. On 6 March, however, the Court of Appeal struck them down. In a case brought by the Bloggers Association of Kenya, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Kenya, Article 19 and others, the court called them so broad they were “like unguided missiles.” 

The Human Rights Digest is Amnesty International Kenya’s regular roundup of the latest human rights developments, analysis, campaigns, and actions from Kenya and beyond.

In December 2025, Australia became the first country in the world to bar anyone under 16 from holding a social media account. Within a day, its own prime minister was dealing with the predictable result. Teenagers flooded the comment section on Anthony Albanese’s TikTok account, including one that read, “I’m still here, wait until I can vote.” A 14-year-old, in New South Wales, had already told the Washington Post weeks earlier that she planned to log back into Snapchat and Instagram using her mother’s Face ID. On Reddit, teenagers traded tips on beating facial age checks, including printing a mesh face mask bought from Temu. The free VPN app Windscribe reported a 400 percent jump in Australian downloads in the first 24 hours after the law took effect. Leonardo Puglisi, the teenage founder of the youth outlet 6 News Australia, said his platform barely felt the impact at all.