{"id":62761,"date":"2018-04-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/foxtail\/2018\/04\/11\/linet-kwamboka\/"},"modified":"2021-02-09T01:35:07","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T01:35:07","slug":"linet-kwamboka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/internet-culture\/interviews\/linet-kwamboka\/","title":{"rendered":"Linet Kwamboka: Your data is your power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In last year\u2019s general election in Kenya, Linet Kwamboka received a surprising SMS from a candidate for parliament. The text message that flashed onto her screen called her by name, identified her polling location in Nairobi, and then asked her to vote for the candidate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is supposed to be my private information,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one really should know that. And I&#8217;m an informed person. What happens to people who are not informed when they sign up to things that they are not fully aware about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yDiCxYYzoVU\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" width=\"680\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As a mission-driven not-for profit, one of Mozilla&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mozilla.org\/en-US\/about\/manifesto\/\">core principles<\/a> is that individuals\u2019 security and privacy are fundamental to the online experience, wherever they happen to be connected. Kwamboka is carrying this idea through her Mozilla Fellowship by analyzing data security policies in East Africa and teaching people why data collection and digital privacy are serious issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe story of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook has unfolded right in front of our eyes,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeing people start to think seriously about what parts of their lives they are allowing complete strangers to have access to and how that is being used to influence their thoughts and actions, is not only fun but very validating for the path I have chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kwamboka grew up in Kenya\u2019s western county of Nyamira, the last born in a family of eight children. She didn\u2019t use a computer until she was 18 when she started studying computer science at college. She caught on quickly, and fell in love with the unlimited potential offered by computers and the internet. After university, she went on to lead Kenya&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opendata.go.ke\/\">Open Data Initiative<\/a> for six years, pushing the government to make more information open and publicly available. As a champion for open data \u2014 data anyone can access, use or share \u2014 Kwamboka saw it as an equalizing force that could enable Kenyans from every region of the country to join in economic growth and help solve societal problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAround this time I also realized that we were not explaining very well to the public what it means to have useful data publicly published and accessible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Through her Mozilla Fellowship, Kwamboka is investigating why people don\u2019t think as critically about data protection as they should. While the internet has created a level playing field for developing nations to access information and participate more fully in the global economy, it has also put these fresh internet citizens at risk. Kwamboka has seen western startups come into Africa and take advantage of the lack of government oversight by collecting loads of data and personal information from users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe could all have expectations the private sector is going to take care of this, or that the government should somehow understand and know what we need so that they can protect our information,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if we, consumers, do not meet them halfway, if we do not safeguard what we are putting out of the internet and what we\u2019re sharing, then it&#8217;s going to be a hard task. So let&#8217;s start today by protecting ourselves, by really caring about what we&#8217;re sharing between friends and with strangers. Because you do not know what is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2>More work by Linet Kwamboka:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/read-write-participate\/dear-internet-i-love-you-but-we-need-to-talk-be703fd69358\">Dear Internet, I Love You But We Need to Talk\u2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/1245876\/facebook-cambridge-analytica-scandal-heralds-better-data-privacy-in-nigeria-kenya-other-african-countries\/\">After the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, can we talk about data privacy in Africa now?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@DataSciencing\/food-security-in-kenya-f43f0ea2ee09\">Food Security in Kenya<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/read-write-participate\/identity-theft-is-this-really-you-bdf095857838\">Identity Theft, Is This Really You?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/read-write-participate\/privacy-in-the-era-of-big-data-45d5eb1cea75\">Privacy in The Era of Big Data<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What else can you do?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/internethealthreport.org\/2018\/\">2018 Internet Health Report<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Listen to<a href=\"https:\/\/irlpodcast.org\/episode1\/\"> IRL\u2019s first episode<\/a> about data privacy.<\/li>\n<li>Read up on <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/internetcitizen\/2017\/03\/28\/protect-privacy-traveling\/\">how to protect your data privacy while traveling<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Get down to basics with <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/firefox\/internet-search-engine-browser\/?utm_source=internet-citizen&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=fellows&amp;utm_content=lk\">these no-judgment digital definitions.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>About Mozilla Fellowships<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foundation.mozilla.org\/fellowships\/\">Mozilla Fellowships<\/a> provide resources, tools, community and amplification to those building a more \u200bhumane\u200b \u200bdigital\u200b \u200bworld. During their tenure, Fellows use their skill sets \u2014 in technology, in activism, in science, in policy \u2014 to design products, run campaigns, influence policy and ultimately lay the groundwork for a more open and inclusive internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In last year\u2019s general election in Kenya, Linet Kwamboka received a surprising SMS from a candidate for parliament. The text message that flashed onto her screen called her by name, identified her polling location in Nairobi, and then asked her to vote for the candidate. \u201cThat is supposed to be my private information,\u201d she said. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":727,"featured_media":20750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[464320],"tags":[311820],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Linet Kwamboka: Your data is your power<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mozilla Fellow Linet Kwamboka is analyzing data security policies and urging people to think seriously about data collection and digital privacy. 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