Parents and other guardians have been urged to be on the look out on the content the youth and children consume online, especially during the ongoing December holiday season.
“It is not enough to purchase smartphones and other devices and leave children on their own without providing the required guidance and controls,” said Ngene Gituku, the chair of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
Speaking at a recent consumer outreach event in Embu County, Gituku said that CA’s national cyber-security centre had observed a sharp increase in the number of cyber-threats and incidents in the country, rising from 11.3 million in the quarter ending in March 30 to 26.6 million between April 1 to June 30 this year.
Gituku said the regulator has a lot of online and physical Children Online Protection materials that could assist parents and guardians guarantee the safety of children online, and urged Embu residents to take advantage of the education resources.
Speaking at the same event, organized jointly by CA and the County Government of Embu, CA acting Director General Mercy Wanjau said Embu residents enjoy good 2G and 3G mobile connectivity, with a respective population coverage of 99.8% and 88.2%.
Embu County Governor Martin Wambora said ICT services have provided opportunities to local residents to acquire knowledge and improve their lives.
“We are proud that that the availability of ICT services is enriching the lives of our people in many profound ways. The Internet, for instance, has provided numerous opportunities for our people to acquire knowledge and to improve their lot. We see various sectors of the local economy, including agriculture, Small and Medium Enterprises, and health heavily relying on ICTs for growth,” said Wambora.
The Governor urged CA to facilitate basic connectivity to all all un-served and underserved areas in Embu to ensure residents enjoy the transformative power of ICT.
“My Government recognizes the importance of ICTs as outlined in our ICT Roadmap for the period 2015-2022. This blueprint focuses on increased ICT infrastructure development, staff training and ICT literacy for the residents of this county,” added the Governor.
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