adminMidlands Bureau
Kwekwe residents yesterday applauded Government for coming up with the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill and called for it to be fast-tracked since it seeks to protect the country from the growing threats of cyber terrorism and information hacking.
Making contributions during a public hearing conducted by a team of legislators drawn from three parliamentary portfolio committees that was being headed by Mashonaland East Senator Dr David Parirenyatwa at Mbizo Hall, the residents said Zimbabweans had been victims of cyber bulling, with the perpetrators going scot-free.
Mr Patrick Nyagube, who only introduced himself as a civic society member, said Zimbabweans needed the Bill urgently.
“The threats of terrorism, cyber bulling and treasonous offences being committed on social media is enough evidence that we desperately need this Bill to protect ourselves and the sovereignty of this nation,” he said.
Mrs Evelyn Masvingise, a primary school teacher, said the Bill should be quickly enacted into law to protect moral decadence and child abuse.
“What we have seen on social media is totally destroying the values and ethics that we are trying to inculcate in our young generation,” she said.
“The acts of violence, truancy and delinquency among pupils in our schools is just shocking.
“It is all because of the abuse of social media. You come across pupils as young as four years old watching pornography, which they would have accessed or received through some social media platforms. I think this Bill is coming at the right time to address this. We risk destroying a whole generation if we do not take action.”
Mrs Masvingise said some images and videos such as the xenophobic attacks that sometimes occur in South Africa, that were being circulated on social media, were influencing violent behaviour in young people.
Another contributor, Mr Nkosilathi Moyo said the proposed Bill was important, but should not come in to stifle technology in an era where the world was now highly technological.
“While the Bill is very important, we should not forget that we are in an era of technology,” he said. “We don’t need to forget that it is through this technology that we also protect and test the level of our security as a nation.
“There are some sections of the Bill which need to be amended like section 31 that is silent about protecting whistle blowers. Why do I say so? We need to guard against corruption and we get this type of information through whistle blowers, so they need to be protected as well.”
Online Reporter