Online Reporter
Leonard Ncube and Leonorah Ncube, Sunday News Reporters
CHILDREN should always be reminded that the Internet never forgets. It is a stern and necessary warning, just like the one from World Wrestling Entertainment which says, “Don’t try this at home”.
Zimbabwe recently joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Data Protection Week with the second edition of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) Data Privacy Symposium in Victoria Falls where data protection officers, regulators, Government, private sector, security, and data subjects converged to discuss various topics including the need to protect citizens, particularly children from online harassment.
The theme for the symposium was apt: “Bridging technology, policy, law and practice: Towards strengthening data protection in Zimbabwe”.
There was consensus on the need to protect online users especially children and for parents to intensify parental guidance, especially in the wake of 18 500 cases of violence recorded last year alone, and 4 000 of the cases being online.
It was noted that the country’s laws are inadequate and not aligned hence children are exposed to abuse, fraud, harassment, and other crimes. Resolutions from the symposium varied, but there was consensus to foster protection of citizens.
This includes the need to extend data protection awareness campaigns to marginalised areas and rural communities, ensure data privacy is recognised and enjoyed as a constitutional human right by all citizens, and build capacity through training programmes to equip individuals and organisations with the tools to protect personal data and regularly update data protection policies and laws to keep pace with technological advancements.
There is also a need to review and increase administrative fines for data protection offenses to ensure they serve as effective deterrents and adopt a multi-stakeholder approach involving the Government, private sector, civil society, and community leaders.
Potraz, being the regulator, should collaborate with other regulatory bodies to drive nationwide data protection initiatives, proactively address data privacy risks associated with increased technology adoption in Zimbabwe, ensure that digital transformation efforts prioritise the protection of personal data and privacy rights, expand data protection awareness campaigns to educate the public about their rights and responsibilities and strengthen enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and accountability in data protection practices.
There is also a need to combat gender-based violence online and ensure equal digital access for women and children. Over and above all, it is imperative to educate parents and children on online safety and digital rights, develop laws addressing emerging technologies such as virtual reality and gaming addiction, improve the admissibility of digital evidence in court and consider criminalising possession of violent or abusive online content.
This comes amid concern about over exposure of children, from as young as seven years, to the Internet, which puts them at higher risk of various online crimes including cyber bullying, fraud, identity theft and sexual abuse among others. This was revealed through a recent study by Potraz which was presented at the symposium.
The study was conducted between 31 December 2023 and 9 February 2024 in 32 districts across the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe covering both urban and rural areas. It targeted children aged between eight and 18 as well as parents and guardians. A total of 3 311 respondents, 2 780 of them children and 531 adults participated. About 55 percent were girls and 45 percent boys. Presenting the report, Potraz research officer, Mrs Makawonesu Mandipezano, expressed concern over the early exposure of children to the Internet. She said the average age of first-time Internet users is between seven and 13, according to the study.
Mrs Mandipezano said 52 percent of children in the country have Internet access, with social media being the most commonly used platform. According to the report, a majority of children who create accounts on social media sites do not follow proper security procedures. This calls for parental guidance and monitoring.
“About 75 percent of these children use their profiles without proper security measures, leaving them vulnerable to hackers and fraudsters,” said Mrs Mandipezano.
About 13 percent of children have experienced cyber bullying at least once, while 47 percent have been exposed to sexual content either intentionally or inadvertently through messages, images or videos at least once, the study revealed.
Mrs Mandipezano emphasised the need for parental supervision. This comes as children access online sites without proper supervision from parents, with some television channels also exposing youngsters to illicit content. “Our children are adventurous, exposing them to higher risk, meaning that we as parents need to check on them,” she said. “About 43 percent of children in Zimbabwe have virtual friendships with people they do not personally know, which raises serious safety concerns. About 29 percent of these children have intentionally met these online friends in person, increasing their exposure to potential risks,” she said.
The study also highlighted a communication gap between parents and children regarding online experiences, particularly on sensitive topics, increasing the risk for young users.
Mrs Mandipezano, implored parents to take a proactive approach to bridge the communication gap by familiarising themselves with digital control tools to better monitor and protect their children’s online activities.
“As parents and guardians, we need to take a cautious approach. We need to learn and understand the use of parental controls on our children’s phones, because just a few of us know what they are,” she said.
Director for Childline Zimbabwe, Ms Rati Moyo said child online safety should not be viewed in isolation but as part of the broader responsibility to protect children in all environments. She said it is important to teach children about digital risks, adding that parents should emphasise on online safety with the same seriousness as home security.
“Families must educate children on staying safe online, ensuring protection begins at home. I do not know of any home that sleeps with their doors open, I have never heard of it, so the same way we protect our children at home is the same way we need to protect our children online, which means we are going to have to teach our children of the measures we have put in place.
“The moment you give them a device, you are going to explain to the child that the device allows them to go on the Internet, and this is what you will get online. We should tell them how to deal with risks and let them know of the available support. So let’s give the children the information at home,” she said.
Participants at the symposium highlighted the need to empower citizens to safely participate in the digital economy while safeguarding their privacy, integrate privacy and security mechanisms into the development lifecycle of all technologies, especially those handling Personally Identifiable Information (PII), which is a thorny issue with leakage of information from organisations especially being circulated on WhatsApp.
Potraz was implored to adopt a privacy-by-design and privacy-by-default approach, ensuring privacy is a foundational element rather than an afterthought, encourage innovators to prioritise user privacy and comply with data protection laws during the design and deployment of new technologies, ensure consent is freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, in line with Section 3 of the Cyber Data Protection Act (CDPA).
There is a need to avoid inappropriate consent practices, such as consenting by inaction or opting out, and provide clear, accessible privacy statements, making sure people understand that consent is signed and not spoken.
There should be mechanisms for users to easily opt-in, opt-out, and withdraw consent without cost or complexity whenever they feel not at ease. Potraz communications manager, Mr Rodwell Chitiyo said parental control alone is insufficient to curb the online risks.
He called for stricter enforcement of laws and more locally relevant content to counter harmful, Eurocentric influences.
“Parental control is not as effective as we think it is. Probably it’s about time we enforce laws and amass the Internet with our own content that we want our children to consume,” he said.
Zimbabwe and Africa in general need consented efforts to protect online data users and researchers are called upon to come up with home grown content that respects Ubuntu, cultural norms and values.
The country recently launched the Child Online Safety Guidelines after a framework was designed by Childline Zimbabwe in partnership with Potraz.
Potraz director-general Dr Gift Machengete said the guidelines seek to insulate children from the various vulnerabilities they are exposed to online.
“The Internet has transformed how we live. It is entirely integrated into the lives of children and young people, making it impossible to consider the digital and physical worlds separately. One-third of all
Internet users today are children and young people, and UNICEF estimates that 71 percent of young people are already online.
“Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic validated the role that ICTs play in our day to day lives and more than ever before, children are using the Internet socially and for e-learning services. While the Internet has brought about convenience owing to rapid digital transformation, it has also brought about a plethora of challenges as children are exposed to various vulnerabilities and there has been an increase in the misuse of technology,” he said.
Scores of children are accessing various sites even without their parents’ consent. Parents provide gadgets to children but do not monitor how they use them. Some are exploited and become victims leading to cyberbullying, cyberstalking and cybergrooming.
Some even end up engaging in pornography and sexting but this has an effect as these pictures and videos are going viral. Some send too much information and pictures online, on TikTok for example, and they are exposing themselves and their families. “Furthermore, we have seen a prevalence of obscene photos and videos on social media and this affects careers and the social being of a person. Owing to the need to protect children online, The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in June 2020 revamped its Child Online Protection Guidelines to incorporate and stay abreast to the ever changing ICTs landscape and launched new guidelines which we are in the process of adopting.
“It is now time for Zimbabwe to start reflecting on the need to come up with a stand-alone legislation on online protection. This requires will, commitment, funding, education and awareness, channel for reporting, digital literacy and skills, co-ordination among stakeholders and research,” added Dr Machengete. Advocate Nosipho Zikishe from Complaints and Investigations in South Africa gave her country’s experience in handling complaints and investigations where she buttressed the need for openness and notification of data subject in handling data, safeguarding security and consent. Sometimes parents even protect their children when they bully others online, or are the ones who share their children’s personal information online to brag to others. Some of the dangerous habits include posting family pictures, data, school results online and on status as this can be used to commit crimes.
Some accounts online are fake and use pictures stolen from other people. Potraz is expected to enhance the capacity of the Data Protection Team to be able to serve the nation and consider collaboration with other stakeholders to enhance compliance, automate data protection registration, compliance monitoring, security breaches and enforcement systems as well as implement measures to protect children’s rights online, including the right to be forgotten.
