Category: Accountability

Phone screen showing WhatsApp app

WhatsApp’s new Terms & Conditions: What they mean to us

Eight years after it gained popularity in Kenya, WhatsApp is now not only owned by Facebook but has more features added to it making it more appealing for masses and increasing its penetration in most countries worldwide. With the new ownership came new terms and conditions in 2012 which most users agreed to without reading. A new set of terms and conditions were unveiled by the company early this year which caused quite a stir online. Data protection experts, governments and civil societies went up in arms with the new terms and the extent in which individual and business data is collected from the platform.
At the Open Institute, we convened an informal lunch time chat to discuss the new terms and conditions and to try and explain what the impact of them would be to the everyday citizen.

Picture of a businessman's hand holding money to give a bribe

Unajua Mtu…? Why Kenyan systems are no greater than the sum of their parts

In Kenya, there is a widespread notion that, in order to receive services from a public office, one must know someone influential in that office.

A Restore Data Rights Initiative for Africa

The Restore Data Rights initiative was born out of necessity; we realised that personal digital rights were being exploited with the COVID-19 pandemic as a

portrait of a real estate agent refusing a client's money

Being corrupt is usually the cheaper option, so what should we do?

Imagine you are driving from one city to another in your country and a policeman stops you for speeding. The correct process that should be

Submissions on the Data Protection Civil Registration Regulations (2020) in Kenya

The Ministry of ICT issued an invitation to members of the public to comment on the data protection regulations on civil registrations through the press.

And the Honesty Oscars go to….

Every day in the week leading up to the Academy Awards, February 17th to 21st, ONE and Accountability Lab will unveil a category for our

Players or Spectators – 6 Observations of CSO participation in OGP

Our founder, Al Kags is happy to publish Players or Spectators – Observations on CSO Participation in the Open Government Partnership, a culmination of a

Give Your Input to Kenya’s Draft OGP Action Plan

Kenya is one of the 65 participating countries of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a multilateral initiative that seeks to make governments more open, accountable and responsive

Why We Need An African Partnership for Development Data

Earlier this year, I published my thoughts on the general direction in which a partnership for development data could take in Africa. While we acknowledge the

Devolution Conference 2014

The Council of Governors (CoG) hosted to a two-day inaugural Devolution Conference held on 3rd and 4th April in Kwale County. The conference, titled “One