ASSIGNMENT 3: LAWS, POLICIES AND REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN

THE USE OF THE INTERNET IN ZAMBIA.

NAME: RAPHAEL MWISA
COUNTRY: ZAMBIA
The Constitution of Zambia, 1996 recognises and guarantees the rights to
freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of assembly and
association and the right to privacy. In March 2021, Zambia enacted its first Data
Protection Act (2021) and Cyber Security and Cybercrimes Act (2021) and passed
a National Cybersecurity Policy (2021) and National Postal Policy. In addition, the
Electronic Commerce and Transactions Act (2021) was reviewed while several
other bills such as the e-Government Bill (2021) and the Postal and Courier
Services Bill (2021) were drafted. The National ICT Policy of 2006 is still under
review.
The right to privacy is to some extent protected through the Cybersecurity and
Cybercrimes Act 2021 and Data Protection Act 2021 while freedom of expression
and the press is protected through the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act
(as amended in 2010) and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Act
(as amended in 2017), however, these two legislations do not apply to non-
broadcast areas such as the Internet. Furthermore, Zambia lacks explicit laws on
the right to assembly and association, and on access to information.
The 20 year old Access to Information bill (2013) is still awaiting enactment and
reasons for the delay could be attributed to the previous government’s concerns
over national security in that the bill could compromise classified information.
However, in November 2021, government announced that it was prioritising the
enactment of the Access to Information Bill (2013) and Zambia Media Council
(ZAMEC) bill (2019), a bill meant to provide media self-regulation mechanisms and
promote professionalism and accountability in the media sector. In 2020, then
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services launched the revised Media
Development Policy 2020 that aims to set out the Government’s vision and
mission to promote freedom of expression by guaranteeing press freedom.
In November 2021, Zambia ratified the African Union Convention on
Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention) which fosters
harmonisation of the new cyber laws with other national frameworks and
regional cooperation on matters of cybersecurity, cybercrime and data
protection. Zambia is party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights
(ACHPR) and International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which
affirm the protection of access to information and freedom of expression both
offline and online. 2
In the year under review, the enjoyment of freedom of expression and access to
information online was tried. According to a 2021 report by Amnesty
International, human rights in Zambia had deteriorated in the last five years with
restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association both offline and
online, which were
Based on national security and public health concerns. Furthermore, the
enactment of the Cybersecurity and Cybercrimes Act (2021) incited fears among
internet users that the law would be used to penalise online conversations
especially on social media, and this led to a culture of selfcensorship among users
who feared being cited for cyberbullying. A group of civil society organisations
including Chapter One Foundation, Bloggers of Zambia, Gears Initiative and
Peoples Action for Accountability and Good Governance in Zambia (PAAGZ)
challenged in the High Court, several provisions of the Cybersecurity Act on
grounds that it is unconstitutional and threatens the right to freedom of
expression, among others. In particular, Section 54 was challenged for being
overly vague and prone to abuse by facilitating detentions and arrests of
journalists and other internet users.

Zambian law that governs the internet

Zambia, like many African countries, subscribe to the African Declaration on
Internet Rights and Freedoms which state in part that: “Everyone has the right to
hold opinions without interference. Everyone has a right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds through the Internet and digital technologies
and regardless of frontiers.” The same is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
While internet rights have been a blessing to the masses and those individuals
that seek to advance democratic tenets and human rights, it has been the most
dreaded threat for some. Perhaps, Zambia’s scenario may somewhat epitomize
the latter.
The immediate past President of the Republic of Zambia Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu
sent the bill Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act, 2021, approved by the
Parliament on March 2021 despite the disapproval and peaceful protests by civil
society organisations.
This law among other provisions prohibits child pornography, cyber-attacks and
cyberterrorism, but it’s also thought to be a silencer of government critics and an
infringement on rights such as those to freedom of speech and privacy. A detailed
analysis of that law exposed glaring grey areas that needed urgent attention, but
complaints fell off deaf ears.

CYBER LAW IN ZAMBIA

Events leading to the 2021 General elections presented an emotional roller
coaster for most Zambians as spats of verbal and physical violence exploded, and
many national scandals unearthed.
All that has been credited to ‘the internet’ that provided, especially the young,
with a platform to freely air out their grievances as one united front against many
injustices, especially those to their freedoms of expressions and holding an
opinion, among others. Amidst all these going-ons, a Cyber Bill was introduced
four months prior elections, and it was met with resistance from majority of
citizens. The selling point for the Bill was that it was going to tackle online hate
speech and other online crimes, on the other hand, civil society organisations
expressed fears that the same law would be used to gag citizens from voicing
their views a few months before elections. A huge infringement of freedoms of
expression and privacy was about to take place as far as the civil society
organisations were concerned.
 PART II: DOES TRADE POLICY DEAL WITH ISSUES SUCH AS eCOMMERCE?
Zambia’s telecommunications sector has experienced rapid growth over the past
several years due to a liberal regulatory approach and robust competition, with
several private sector providers and the legacy telecom parastatal offering both
consumer and business grade data and voice service at competitive rates as
compared to other markets in the sub region. The Information and
Communication Technologies Act Number 15 of 2009 regulates the
telecommunication sector in the country, and the Zambia Information and
Communications Authority (ZICTA) is the notionally independent regulator for the
ICT sector.

eCommerce is a growing market in Zambia. Growth varies by channel, though

mobile commerce is by far the top performer. Since reporting the first outbreak
cases of COVID-19 in Zambia, the use of mobile commerce has increased rapidly,
especially in domestic payments in retail, wholesale, utility, and obligatory
payments to government. According to the Zambia Information Communications
Technology Agency (ZICTA), the total number of active internet subscriptions
increased from 10.3 million at the end of 2020 to 10.4 million by the end of 2021,
representing growth of 1.3 percent and an internet penetration rate of 56.7 per
100 inhabitants. The steady increase in subscriptions (up from only 7.9 million in
2018) is attributed to improved data networks, affordable data services and the
expansion of networks by operators aggressively competing for customers.
Notable industries exploiting the eCommerce space include banks and
telecommunication companies.

While currently under review by the new administration that took office in August
2021, the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act came into effect on April 1, 2021,
establishing extra-territorial reach for conduct that has an effect in Zambia. The
law allows for law enforcement interception of communications without
notification of private citizens and allows cyber inspectors to access without prior
notice any ICT equipment reasonably believed to have been used in connection
with an offense. The act also criminalizes hate speech and/or conduct through
any form of communication, including social media. Penalties for hate speech can
include a fine of ZMW 150,000, imprisonment up to two years, or both. Provisions
in the act related to hate speech are broad and subjective and the courts have not
yet established a large body of precedent related to the law. The Data Protection
Act also went into effect on April 1, 2021, and now stands as the primary data
privacy and protection legislation in Zambia. The Act includes data localization
requirements for sensitive data and establishes an Office of the Data Protection
Commissioner, who is responsible for regulating controllers and data processors
and licensing data auditors. As of July 2022, the Zambian government is actively
considering revisions to the Data Protection Act that would loosen data
localization requirements but impose stiff fees for access to off-shore data
centers.

The Information and Communications Technology Association of Zambia bill was

approved by Parliament and enacted in July 2018. The Act establishes the
Information and Communications Technology Association of Zambia and
stipulates its functions and regulates the registration of information and
communications technology professionals and their professional conduct in the
sector.

B2B eCommerce
The Zambian government is developing a B2B portal that includes a database of
suppliers and buyers and provides electronic tools to enable buyers to submit
tender information and receive bids from suppliers. The portal aims to increase
trade between local small and medium enterprises and large companies. Other
entities are entering the B2B market; for example, the national pension fund
(NAPSA) has partnered with several banks to enable payments of pension
contributions. Other partnership examples include:

The Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO) is interfacing with IT companies

for the purchase and payment of electricity tokens;
Banks have partnered with private companies to provide payment platforms to
enable bank accounts to be debited for online transactions;
Water utility companies, Zambia Revenue Authority, Road Transport and Safety
Agency and many others have partnered with system integrators to allow for
online bill payment;
Pay television and other services and products can be paid through mobile
banking. SMS Banking ATM and kiosk payments, online website payments, or
using credit or debit cards.