Government says it has no equipment to spy on your...

Government says it has no equipment to spy on your social media life

The Government of Zimbabwe does not have specialised equipment to monitor social media usage, a top government official has said.

“We have no gadgets in place to monitor social media like what people say because everyone does monitor social media,” said Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana.

There have been allegations that the government has acquired equipment to monitor social media.

The PS however pointed out that those who break the law in cyber space will face prosecution.

“We are not playing censorship on social media but cybercrime is dealt with like any other crime as per the Constitution,” he said.

The Data Protection Act criminalises invasion of privacy, bullying, threats as well as creation and sharing of fake news.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa has said that the Zimbabwean government should not use the law to criminalise fake news.

Experts say that Zimbabwe’s 2018 election was characterised by a spike in fake news, zeroing in on fake results shared on social media in particular.

The world over, governments have been strengthening or enacting new laws to deal with the pandemic as it has been shown that fake news incites unrest and violence.

France has made it illegal to “disturb public peace through the publication, dissemination, or reproduction of fake news in bad faith and this includes dissemination, or reproduction of forged or altered items, or items falsely attributed to third parties.

In Japan breaking the law according to the Broadcasting Act leads to a fine of not more than 500,000 yen (approximately US$3,500 at current rates) for publishing fake news.

Social media platforms are also heavily monitoring fake news dissemination and apply penalties including removing posts, putting users in virtual quarantine, and as in the case of former US President Donald Trump, closing accounts.