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{
    "id": 1349601,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1349601/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 655,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Crystal Asige",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "great havoc in society as a whole. This unfortunate case has shown us that entire villages have been wiped out, individuals have been isolated to the point of death and societies have been devastated by the shocking turn of events. The potent power of religion can be seen throughout history when we remember cult leaders such as Charles Manson. It is unfortunate that we still have not fully understood how these dangerous leaders take advantage of people looking for belonging and purpose, using their vulnerabilities for sinister motives. What is even sadder is that this was happening right under our noses for years and maybe even decades and nobody noticed. Now, 429 people are gone, vanished and there might be more. As a country, we need to learn from this and change our focus because religious extremism affects everyone. Madam Temporary Speaker, it is also high time that the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) took the bull by the horns, by connecting with social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Meta platforms and others, to regulate content that potentially has cult-like characteristics; or that distribute content that might result in harm to our people, be it mental or physical. Let the Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy be proactive and put a stop to it before more harm occurs. Have we even began to wrap our heads around the destruction that can be caused when Artificial Intelligence (AI) lands in the wrong hands within Kenya? Are we ready for recruitment, indoctrination and crime that can occur? Our people deserve protection from potentially damaging influencers and taking action now is essential. Recommendation No.10 requires that CAK, engage YouTube, Facebook and other social media networks and sites that have content associated with Paul Mackenzie and his teachings. This is with a view to permanently deleting these contents and removing the accounts and I support. My plea to the Committee is to not only remove any cult-like religious content, but also to take charge of how such content is shared in the future if it has already been downloaded. It is a plea to safeguard our community from potential harmful influencers to act now and prevent the spread of such content by nipping it at the bud because as we all know, as soon as something lands on the internet, it will never die. It will always exist in some way, shape or form. My question to the Committee is, how are we then going to regulate that which has already been downloaded? I applaud the recommendation in Paragraph No.510 of the Report. That CAK should create a licensing category for religious broadcasting stations and develop guidelines for the approval and monitoring of religious content within 90 days of the adoption of the Report. Further, I recommend that these guidelines give criteria on the immediate removal or suspension of licenses once extremist content has been flagged. As I conclude my submission, I would have liked to see the segregated data as well, on the victims of these crimes. What is the ratio of men to women, those in rural areas to those in urban areas, young people to elderly people, the socio-economic variance and so on? Although it will not be perfect, this data would have helped to build The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}