In a move to stamp out exam malpractices, the Kenyan government has imposed a temporal ban on Telegram, an instant messaging App cited for its use in leaking National exam answers. Following the footsteps of Uganda, Nigeria, Somalia, and other African countries that have banned certain social media platforms for various reasons, this ban, according to the Communications Authority (CA) of Kenya aims to prevent widespread academic fraud during national examinations.
The Communications Authority (CA) of Kenya instructed telecom providers to temporarily shut down Telegram on all networks to halt the app’s role in facilitating the sharing of National exam solutions among students.
On 31 October 2024, the CA reached out to the executives at Safaricom, Telkom Kenya, Jamii Telecom, and Airtel Kenya, emphasizing that Telegram has been less cooperative in enforcing anti-cheating protocols compared to other platforms.
NetBlocks, an internet monitoring organization, confirmed service disruptions on Safaricom, linking them to this crackdown. A similar social media ban, enacted in Kenya in November 2023, reportedly caused an estimated $32.5 million loss, as it disrupted communications vital to sectors such as retail and e-commerce.
The debate over free speech versus regulation is globally growing out of hand. In countries like Russia and China, many social media platforms are subjected to strict regulations due to perceived threats from Western technologies. In Kenya, the frequent ban on Telegram during national exams raises concerns not just about digital governance and civil liberties but also about whether the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) is failing to secure exam integrity without resorting to such measures.
The restriction will be enforced during the Kenya National exams, running from 7:00 to 10:00 am and 1:00 to 4:00 pm on weekdays, and is set to last until November 22.
As the situation develops, stakeholders will be closely monitoring how these restrictions affect both academic integrity and digital freedoms within Kenya. The effectiveness of such measures remains a contentious issue as authorities grapple with balancing regulation and user rights in an increasingly digital world.
