Verizon, Vodafone • Wickr, Wikimedia Foundation, WordPress, Yahoo!,reddit have a physical verification ability. • Electronic Commerce Bill - a mix of communication and banking laws, which were designed for ‘brick and mortar’ retail banking, currently regulates Zimbabwe’s electronic transactions. The increasing shift to internet banking and online transactions through the use of web, Point of Sales (POS), and emergence of Mobile Point of Sales (MPOS), increases exposure and risk of transaction interception. See example below from https://govtrequests.facebook.com • The finalisation of the National ICT Policy through revision and implementation is more critical at this stage. Despite the work conducted by the private sector and civil society in crafting a policy, the country is currently using a 2005 ICT policy, which is insufficient. Issues such as an open government, open data initiative, and internet universal access are not covered in the 2005 policy. Recommendations: Laws • The Personal and Privacy Data/Personal Data Protection Bill, which are still in the offing but have not yet officially been made available need to be debated further.This Bill should take into account the constitutional provisions on right to privacy, international standards, guidance from various internet forum resolutions and declarations. Recommendations: Practice • The launch of ZIGF is a positive step, however, there appears to be concerns already on legitimacy, inclusivity and ownership. • Civil society should clearly propose alternatives to strengthening this platform and inclusion of other actors not represented. • Provision of research in respect of the roles, functions and mandate of the ZIGF will assist in measuring its effectiveness and efficacy. • If legitimately constituted, ZIGF can play a convening role and address the multi-faceted interests of stakeholders. • There is need to establish Civil Society Internet Rights Watch/Forum • Online Regulatory Policy – there should be a consultative process to develop this policy- it should not be shrouded in secrecy. • Regulatory Institutions are a one-stop facility. There should be clarity of roles/mandates of the regulatory institutions. • There is need for clarity and follow up on the Information Communication Technology Bill, which was being crafted during the inclusive government. An ICT Bill is required for purposes of clearly defining what Zimbabwe is lacking in terms of policy and statutory regulation. Civil society demands for such reforms should include how a clear framework can allow for business, economic growth, increased information reach and diversity. • The Cyber Crimes Bill can be looked at in relation to the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act( Code). There is need to amend or expand the Code if there is reluctance to come up with a new bill. Current laws have proved ineffective in deterring and prosecuting actual criminality through ICT. Unfortunately the Code has been targeting perceived critics of the state. If the cyber crimes bill is crafted, there is need for open and inclusive training that includes private sector involvement and civil society. Consumer associations will also need to increase their efforts to assist citizens in familiarisation with such laws and what is protected. Recommendations: Law + Practice • There is need to take note that some cybercrimes will be multi-jurisdictional and government should be prepared for such cases. • The commercialisation of the internet is apparent and there is need for policies and laws to ensure affordability of access to the internet to the citizenry. • To ensure accountability online and responsible use by individuals and organisations there should be a process to draw up either self-regulatory or statutory mechanisms • There is need for the relevant authorities, which include POTRAZ and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), to raise more consumer rights awareness in the citizenry. • Consumer Protection Bill must be amended to include internet related consumer rights. There is need to have holistic protection of internet users in respect of fraudulent marketing that involves get rich quick schemes, chain emails, cure for illnesses over the net which are likely to increase in Zimbabwe, as technology replaces ordinary commercial transactions that Panel Discussion Points • The current copyright laws are not comprehensive on take down notices of information uploaded on the web to deal with copycats or pirates. the Competition Act. These include restrictive trade practices, which have slowly crept into insurance, education, and the e-banking sectors. The Tariffs and Competition Commission needs to be more visible. • Concerns were raised on the application of the Interception of Communications Act in that a warrant for interception is issued on the simple belief that a crime is about to be committed rather than on reasonable grounds. Other problematic areas discussed the broad definition of communication. • Criminal Matters (Mutual Assistance) Act, usually enforced when there are cases that have occurred where evidence is beyond Zimbabwe’s jurisdiction. In the case of internet related cases, the Baba Jukwa and the Mavhudzi cases, there was no official requests by the Zimbabwean government to Google or Facebook. • The Consumer Contracts Act is critical to internet governance. There is little awareness on the basic consumer rights by the ordinary citizenry. Civil society and the CCZ should increase work on awareness of the consumer in Zimbabwe. • The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe is proposing a new Consumer Protection Bill and Zimbabweans are encouraged to get involved in that conversation in so far as internet consumer rights are concerned. • Regulation of ‘competition’ is also critical. Concerns were raised on the increasing ‘bullying’ tendencies in the telecoms sector in contravention of INTERNET GOVERNANCE MULTISTAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE REPORT 2015 025 www.misazim.com @misazimbabwe MISA Zimbabwe