Paper short abstract:

Social media platforms such as Facebook and X have increasingly emerged as organising, activism, and critique tools. From the Arab Spring uprising to #RejectFinanceBill2024, these platforms have demonstrated their vital role in facilitating collective action against oppressive regimes.

Paper long abstract:

Kenya is internationally recognised for digital innovation, and media freedom is guaranteed in the 2010 Constitution (Articles 33, 34, and 35). However, in practice, the media is governed by regulations muddled within various sections of civil and criminal law, which limit the freedom of critics and protestors.

Furthermore, the impact and influence of Kenya's legacy media have steadily declined over the last decade as social media has become a primary source of news and information for most Kenyans. The media's heavy dependency on advertisements has decreased its commercial viability as advertisers are shifting their attention away from conventional local media.

The government has since become the biggest single advertiser in all the media houses. With this dominance, the government threatens to pull or withdraw its advertisements if a media house or journalist fails to report news in favour of government interests. While the governments cannot completely control the media or shut it down as they need it for

legitimacy, and to publicise and enact their policies, they have strategies to manage other actors' power through the same media platforms, including bribery, leaking messages and shutdowns.

This paper reports on a series of interviews with political bloggers, independent activists, human rights organisations, media organisations, and higher education institutions (HEIs) to understand the impact and implications of Kenya's Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act (CMCA, 2018) on free speech and shed light on the politics of contemporary media management in Kenya.