State of the media report Q1-2021 The CSOs said the Bill in its current form fell short of several regional and international set standards. Communique-5th March (News Diggers) THE Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) says it supports the enactment of the Cyber Security Bill to curb rising incidences of cyberbullying and Internet abuse. In a statement, Thursday, IBA Board chairperson Mabel Mung’omba stated that the Authority was concerned about the rising incidences of cyber bullying, fake news, online rumours and general Internet abuse. “IBA wishes to support the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill, 2021, which seeks to, among other things, provide for cyber security in the Republic, protection of persons against cybercrime, child online protection, and facilitate identification, declaration and protection of critical information infrastructure. The Authority is concerned about incidents of cyber bullying, fake news, online rumours and general internet abuse, which are on the rise and there is need to curtail such unfortunate trends. The IBA further notes that traditional media, unlike social media platforms, have instituted gate-keeping processes/mechanisms designed to preserve the integrity of the content channelled to the public,” Mung’omba stated. “We wish to encourage all broadcasting stations that utilise the Internet to do so in a professional manner and adhere to the same guidelines that they follow when they write news for traditional media. The Authority has noted with regret that most social media users pay no regard to the negative impact of the messages they post, which may have far-reaching consequences on the victims. It is unfortunate that most of the victims of these attacks are women, girls and children who may not have the means of defending themselves. In this regard, we urge all stations to avoid reporting that promotes gender stereotypes.” Mung’omba cautioned broadcasting stations to be careful in the manner they used online platforms. Communique-5th March (News Diggers) THE Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill has passed the second reading stage in Parliament after 83 parliamentarians voted in the affirmative. The Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill No. 2 of 2021 came up for resumption of debate, Thursday. The Bill was then subjected to an electronic vote, where 83 members of parliament voted in the affirmative, 52 in the negative and one was in absentia. After voting, the Bill was read a second time after which Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini indicated that the committee stage would be taken today, Friday. On Wednesday, the House failed to vote whether or not the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill should be read for the second time due to challenges with the information and technology system. The members of parliament tried to vote orally, but failed as there was an indication of division, which fostered the use of the IT system to determine whether the Bill should be read for the second time. Three MPs, namely Liuwa UPND member of parliament Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, Zambezi East UPND member of parliament Brian Kambita and Namwala UPND member Moono Lubezhi had earlier risen on points of order, complaining that they were facing challenges with logging into the eChamber system. Dr Matibini was then forced to interrupt business for the day in order to resolve the challenges. 40