The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) says it will begin regulating the e-commerce sector in 2019 after drafting new guidelines aimed at protecting consumers from fraud.
CA Director General Francis Wangusi said the authority had already prepared the rules and planned to engage stakeholders in the first three months of 2019 before enforcement begins.
He said the regulator is also working on the National Addressing System, which would cover the naming and numbering of streets, as well as the numbering of properties such as buildings and parcels of land, to make physical locations easier to trace.
“Of course we have to rope in all interested parties. At the moment we are scouting for a consultant who will work with us to eliminate all the kinks before we take the bill to parliament,” said Wangusi.
Wangusi said e-commerce platforms are not currently regulated under the Kenya Information and Communications Act (KICA) because they do not fall under the electronic services covered by the law.
He argued that regulation is necessary after repeated fraud claims targeting online shoppers. A report by Serianu said Kenya lost Ksh 21 billion to cybercrime fraudsters in 2017.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a January 2015 case study on cyber laws and regulations for enhancing e-commerce, said cyber criminals were targeting unsuspecting online shoppers in Kenya with fake websites and counterfeit goods, with money transfer among the preferred payment methods.
Wangusi said stronger rules would help restore trust in online transactions and support the growth of e-commerce.
“Such regulations also need to be enacted in Kenya to build consumer confidence in online transactions leading to further development of e-commerce,” said Wangusi.
