The latest Q2 2022/2023 ICT sector statistics report indicate that there are over 65.7m mobile subscribers in Kenya, a 133% percent mobile penetration and the report further indicating that 47.7m Kenyans are mobile data subscribers. This sector statistics report demonstrates an increase in the growth of mobile service subscribers over the years and as such this report indicates that there has also been an exponential increase in the number of users of communication services. In view of this it is safe to conclude that the number of children having accesses to these services has increased and also the accessibility to mobile devices by this target group. 

The Communications Authority of Kenya as the ICT regulator is mandated to protect consumers of ICT services including children. Children are a vulnerable group and there have been many cases of children unknowingly getting into dangerous situations that sometimes have detrimental effects to them. Protecting children online is a global problem that requires concerted efforts of parents, guardians, the government and organizations that focus on children, among others.

• Know about children’s use of communication devices.
• Understand the law related to online child exploitation.
• Know technical and procedural measures on breach of child online protection.
• Know the required infrastructure necessary at national levels to ensure child online safety.

Seeing that child online protection and safety requires a multistakeholder approach to address the emerging challenges, AFRALTI has over the years leveraged the expertise and experiences of various stakeholders and partners i.e. META, GSMA, Kenya Law Reforms Commission (KLRC), Anti Human Trafficking Child Protection Unit, ISOC, Cyber Speak Kenya, Directorate of Public Prosecution (ODPP), International Center of Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) and the University of Pretoria. 

With over 800 trained and certified Kenyan stakeholders, AFRALTI and its partners are confident that the participants  shall use the knowledge acquired through this training to safeguard the interests of children online.  

The Authority will continue to invest in capacity building, awareness creation and collaboration among other efforts as a means of addressing the global challenges of cybersecurity as well as ensure the country has adequate capacity to respond to such incidents when they occur.