Kenyan Government Demands Data of its Citizens from Facebook

The latest transparency report from Facebook reveals that the Kenyan government has been demanding the data of its citizens from Facebook. It shows that the government demanded the private information of Kenyan users on five different occasions in the first half of 2019.

However, the report did not disclose the reason for the demands, the identity of the accounts, and the nature of the information. Facebook responds to government requests for data following applicable laws and terms of service.

According to the report, the government made five total requests between January and June 2019. Only one went through the legal process while the four others were emergency requests. “Each request we receive is carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency. We may reject or demand great specificity on requests that appear overly broad or vague,” it says.

Kenyan citizens are skeptical about why government requests for their data on social media. This is not the first time this is happening. The Kenyan government made similar requests in 2015 (January-June), 2017 (July – December), 2018 (July – December) and now 2019 (January – June).

According to the report, Facebook accepts requests to preserve account information pending a receipt of the formal legal process before disclosing such records.

Apart from Facebook, in 2018 the government had requested such data from tech companies during political campaigns. It also requested personal data of some Gmail accounts from Google on eight different occasions in 2013.

This demand seems to imply that the Kenyan government aims to encroach on online freedom of expression. The government is also reviewing the Kenya Information and Communications Bill to that regard.