INTERNET ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY According to the Postal Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe report for the third quarter of 2021 the number of active internet and data subscriptions increased by 1.2 percent to reach 9.3 million from 9.2 million recorded in the previous quarter. The internet penetration rate increased by 0.3 percent to reach 62.6 percent of the population from 62.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter. However, Zimbabwe’s data tariffs remain among the highest in the region due to hyperinflation and this means the majority of the population cannot afford the costs of using the internet. MEDIA REGULATION At the end of 2021, the government enacted the Data Protection Act, a new law that had been roundly condemned when it was presented in Parliament. One of the major concerns with the Data Protection Act is that it criminalises the publication of falsehoods online (Section 164C). (9) The new provisions of the law defy earlier but related judgments such as the in the 2014 case, where Luke Malaba, who was then deputy chief justice, ruled that criminalising the publishing of falsehoods “had the effect of interfering with the exercise of the right to freedom of expression”. (10) Despite this ruling, the government has somewhat continued to use this law to charge people for publishing falsehoods. Research and studies have shown that criminalising the publication of falsehoods only serves to stifle freedom of expression and of the media. (11) Criminalising the publication of falsehoods only serves to promote self-censorship. It is a strict liability law where the onus is on the accused to prove their innocence rather than the State to prove guilt. SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY OF ONLINE COMMUNICATION The Zimbabwean Constitution guarantees the right to privacy in section 57. However, the Constitution is not explicit in guaranteeing protection against the subject of physical and other online surveillance. The main law governing online surveillance in Zimbabwe is the Interception of Communications Act. One of the main criticisms of this law is that interception of communications warrants are issued by the responsible minister rather than by the courts, which will prevent abuse for political ends. Under the guise of protecting national security, the Zimbabwean government faces accusations that it is snooping on citizens, activists and journalists. (12) Zimbabwe has, however, gone one step above and instead of relying on that law to surveil its citizens, the country has purchased hi-tech spyware and technology to snoop on journalists and other citizens. Zimbabwe was named as one of the seven countries that had purchased software from Circles, a surveillance firm that reportedly exploits weaknesses in the global mobile phone system to snoop on calls, texts, and the location of phones around the globe. (13) Circles is affiliated with the NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware has been widely used to spy on human rights defenders and journalists. INDEPENDENT CONTENT PRODUCERS Zimbabwe has a growing community of independent content producers, but they are largely unrecognised by bodies such as the Zimbabwe Media Commission, which means they struggle to access official information from government bodies. The content producers also struggle to get funding and their operations remain largely informal. ACCESS TO INFORMATION BY THE MEDIA As part of efforts to reform the media sector, Zimbabwe enacted the Freedom of Information Act to enhance public accountability, but journalists still struggle to access information from government departments and parastatals. The state of affairs has been attributed to lack of awareness about the new law. There are also some government departments that remain hostile to the privately owned media for political reasons. STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 57 phenomenon that needs to be further explored.