STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 3. 2020 (a) the public; (b) sections of the public; or (c) subscribers to any broadcasting service, whether conveyed by means of radio frequency spectrum or any electronic communications network or any combination thereof”. Therefore, any person wishing to operate or provide a broadcasting service in Zambia, regardless of whether the broadcasting service is conveyed through radio frequency spectrum or any electronic communications network such as the internet, is required to obtain a broadcasting licence from the IBA. Operating without a broadcasting licence amounts to an offence punishable under section 19(2) of the IBA Act. The realm of the internet (and social networking) and its resultant effect on conventional media broadcasting cannot be overstated. The medium and its specific characteristics of interactivity, anonymity, multimedia capability and accessibility have reshaped the practice of mass communication and it is no surprise that the issue of broadcasting using online platforms has risen in Zambia. This is in view of the IBA, which is legally mandated to regulate broadcasting activities as spelled out in the IBA Act of 2002 (amended in 2010). However, some of the provisions of the Act are debatable with regard to regulation of content broadcast on social media platforms, even though the Authority superintends and licenses some content service providers and broadcasters through Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), such as Airtel TV. Notwithstanding the unethical nature of the misleading story aired by Spring TV , ‘broadcasts’ made over social networking platforms using live streaming such as that provided by Facebook, a social network, presents a different set of challenges, even in terms of liability. The first consideration is a set of questions revolving around what exactly should be deemed as broadcasting: does an initiative by an individual using a free platform such as Facebook to stream programmes and content amount to broadcasting? What criteria will be used to differentiate professional livestreams of concerts, church programmes, personal opinions, music shows, interviews and so on, with at least 2.5 million users on Facebook alone in 32