Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Hon. Tatenda Mavetera, has publicly refuted circulating claims that the government intends to impose penalties of USD 2,500 on administrators of WhatsApp groups or other social media platforms.
The rumors, which have spread rapidly on various social media channels, suggested that administrators would face licensing requirements and hefty fines, but Mavetera has labeled these claims as “malicious fake news.”
“I would like to distance myself from the malicious fake news of intentions by government to licence or penalise WhatsApp groups or administrators of any social media platform,” Mavetera stated, clarifying that the penalties do not apply to administrators of groups that do not collect or process Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for commercial or business purposes.
Minister Mavetera underscored the specific scope of Zimbabwe’s cyber regulations, clarifying that only entities that collect PII for commercial use are subject to licensing or regulatory requirements under Statutory Instrument (SI) 155 of the 2024 Cyber and Data Protection (Licensing of Data Controllers and Appointment of Data Protection Officers) Regulations. “Personally identifiable information is any type of data that can identify someone, from their name and address to their phone number, passport information, and ID number,” Mavetera explained, adding that these regulations are designed to protect sensitive data used commercially.
The minister encouraged the public to “disregard this notice with the uttermost discontent it deserves,” calling the claims “inconsistent with our legal provisions.”
