HARARE
–
Information
Communication
Technology
(ICT)
Minister,
Tatenda
Mavetera
has
distanced
herself
from
recent
media
claims
she
plans,
on
behalf
of
government,
to
impose
mandatory
licence
requirements
on
WhatsApp
group
administrators
and
consequent
fines
of
US$2,500
for
non-compliance.
In
a
statement
she
posted
on
her
X
handle
Saturday,
Mavetera
said
such
penalties
would
only
apply
to
platforms
or
administrators
who
collect
Personally
Identifiable
Information
(PII)
for
business
or
commercial
use.
PII
includes
any
data
that
could
be
used
to
identify
individuals,
such
as
names,
phone
numbers,
or
identification
numbers.
Mavetera
urged
the
public
to
disregard
the
claims,
emphasizing
that
they
were
inconsistent
with
Zimbabwe’s
legal
framework,
particularly
the
Cyber
and
Data
Protection
(Licensing
of
Data
Controllers
and
Appointment
of
Data
Protection
Officers)
Regulations
under
Statutory
Instrument
(SI)
155
of
2024.
“I
would
like
to
distance
myself
from
the
malicious
fake
news
about
the
government’s
intentions
to
license
or
penalize
WhatsApp
groups
or
administrators
of
any
social
media
platform
with
fines
of
up
to
USD2,500,”
Mavetera
said.
“This
claim
is
not
applicable,
especially
to
players
who
do
not
collect
or
process
Personally
Identifiable
Information
(PII)
for
commercial
or
business
use.
Personally
Identifiable
Information
(PII)
is
any
data
that
can
be
used
to
identify
someone,
from
their
name
and
address
to
their
phone
number,
passport
information,
and
ID
number.
“I
have
never
expressed
any
intentions
to
license
or
penalize
WhatsApp
groups
or
administrators
of
any
social
media
platform
that
do
not
collect
and
process
PII
for
commercial
or
business
use.”
Reports
of
a
government
plan
to
introduce
licence
requirements
on
private
WhatsApp
groups
were
met
with
outrage
from
the
public
which
accused
the
state
of
attempts
to
criminalise
and
commodify
free
speech.