NewsZimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s controversial cyber bill signed into law

0
zimbabwe1
http://i.imgur.com/OXd4DCk.jpg
Share this article

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law the ‘dreaded’ and controversial Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, which passed through the Senate in July 2021 and was awaiting Presidential assent.

The signing of new legislation to be called Data Protection Act (Chapter 11:12) comes amid concerns from human rights groups that Mnangagwa’s jittery government was bent on stifling dissent on social media through the enactment of the spy law, reported New Zimbabwe.

Among other provisions, the statute seeks to provide for data protection with due regard to the Declaration of Rights enshrined in the Constitution and to uphold public and national interests.

It will also see the creation of the Data Protection Authority which will replace the Postal Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).

The new authority shall be mandated to, among other functions, regulate the manner in which personal information held by access providers such as Econet, NetOne, and Telecel may be processed.

Rights defenders have argued the government is violating social media users by snooping on what citizens send and receive on social media platforms, particularly on WhatsApp.

The Act will also criminalise offences such as the transmission of data messages inciting violence or damage to property, sending threatening data messages, hacking, cyber-bullying, and posting of sexually explicit content without consent of the data subject.

Further, it will penalise the production and dissemination of racist and xenophobic materials, child sexual abuse materials, and child p*rn*graphy.

The authority to be established under the new law will also be tasked with setting rules, giving authorisation for and governing whistle-blowing systems in the interest of fairness, lawfulness, and transparency.

While initiators of the legislation argue it will create and promote a technology-driven business environment and encourage technology development and the lawful use of tech gadgets, antagonists view the law in a bad light.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) says it is rattled by Mnangagwa’s government’s determination to restrict freedom of speech and expression through the deployment of a cyber team to monitor citizens on social media.

They say monitoring what people send and receive was tantamount to invasion of privacy.

Massive surveillance by the government, CIZC spokesperson Marvelous Kumalo said, will infringe on fundamental human rights and lead to an upsurge in cases of clampdowns on pro-democracy activists.

Information Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa recently announced the government had set up a cyber team to “monitor what people send and receive.”

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe had also voiced concerns with the signing of the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Bill into law saying the legislation had an omnibus approach, infringed on a range of rights and needed to be un-bundled.

Misa Zimbabwe Director Tabani Moyo said, “It lumps in Potraz, Cybersecurity Centre and Data Protection Authority (together), which is a dangerous marriage that can lead to the compromise of our right to privacy.”

“We all know what a Cybersecurity Centre is, that’s an arm of the State, which should be separated from a Data Authority or Potraz, which has unfettered access to our information through control of mobile operators and internet networks,” concluded Moyo.

Share this article

Nigeria: Ecobank Names Jubril Lawal MD Designate as Patrick Akinwuntan Nears Retirement

Previous article

Nigeria: AMCON to Publish Debtors’ List in January 2022

Next article

You may also like

Comments

Comments are closed.

More in News