PRESENTED AT THE STAKEHOLDERS FORUM ON QUALITY OF SERVICE AND CONSUMER EXPERIENCE LAICO REGENCY HOTEL Creating Space for Consumer Rights in the ICT Sector Celine AWUOR Consumer Information Network- Kenya

About CIN A national consumer organisation registered in Kenya Objective: protecting consumer rights and promoting consumer responsibilities Mission: empower consumers through education, advocacy and research on consumer concerns Vision: A society that upholds consumer rights Areas of work: constructive dialogue with policy makers, regulators and stakeholders to realise CP in areas of trade, health, financial services, environment, sustainable consumption among others. CIN is a full member of Consumers International

Consumer Rights in the ICT Sector (COMESA Guidelines) Legal Basis for Protection; Responsive Institutional Framework; Freedom of Choice; Transparency and Disclosure; High Quality of Service; Accurate and Comprehensible Billing; Channels for Redress; Non-Discrimination; Fair and Responsible Marketing; Fair and Reasonable Treatment; Personal Privacy and Security; Health and Safety; Representation and Voice; and Access to Information.

Consumer responsibilities Payment of bills for services; Proper use of products and services; Genuine claim; Environmental protection; Respect contractual obligations in customer service agreements; Respect the privacy of other users.

Role of consumer associations Advocacy and lobbying for effective regulatory environment to support consumers' realisation of their rights Call on industry to be responsive to consumer needs Consumer representation Consumer education and awareness Campaigns on consumer concerns, e.g.: -WCRD 2014: “Fix our phone rights” -Proposals for updating the UNGCP to address consumer issues in the digital age -Through CI, lobby global and regional community (ITU, ISO, OECD, COMESA) on CP in the digital arena

Consumer expectations from other stakeholders Regulators have a role of creating an enabling environment for consumers to exercise their rights in ICT sector. To ensure that consumer rights are upheld/ realised By ensuring that transparency in contract negotiations and contents Engage consumers in policy and decision making, support consumer organisations to enable them provide feedback through credible research, undertake consumer education programmes

Mobile sector Provide consumers with access to an affordable, reliable service: consistent and of a high quality without drop outs in service. Provide consumers with fair contracts explained in clear, complete and accessible language: to enable consumers exercise their right to make informed choices. Provide consumers with fair and transparent billing: to ensure fairness and transparency in bills, and protection from billing fraud. Provide consumers with security and power over their own information: Telecoms providers and regulators must protect the personal data that consumers give up in order to use mobile services. Consumers must be able to set the terms of how this data is used. Listen and respond to consumer complaints: Telecom providers should have effective complaints systems and if consumers are not satisfied there should be redress mechanisms to ensure a fair outcome. There should be provisions to penalise providers for abusive and unjust business practices

Internet (revision of UNGCP) Address consumers’ loss of control over their personal information online, including the preventative measure of limiting the information that is collected about consumers to begin with, as well as treatment of security and remedies against the loss of personal information. Promote public access to codes, standards and compliance documentation, as well as safety information, over the Internet. Promote the creation, dissemination and preservation of content in diverse languages and accessible formats. Promote affordable access to the Internet, and require governments and businesses to uphold the principles of network neutrality. Ensure that consumers retain access to their own data in formats that they can use, through the use of open standards.

Conclusion All stakeholders must play their role to ensure that consumers are both informed and protected. An informed consumer is aware of his/her rights and can assert them. He/she is better equipped to assess the available choices and make informed decisions in the market hence promoting competition among service providers. The consumer is further protected when regulators and legislators ensure that there is an enabling environment for industry to operate and cater to consumer needs by removing anti-competitive practices in the industry. For the consumer to be both informed and protected, certain consumer protection instruments are hence necessary such as legislations and setting of minimum standards specifying requirements that address consumer needs in the market.

Thank you.