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Chronicle Reporters
CYBER-bullying, revenge porn and child pornography will soon attract five to 10-year jail sentences for culprits, according to the recently gazetted Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill.

The purpose of the Bill which was gazetted last Friday is to consolidate cyber related offences, establish a Cyber Security Centre and a Data Protection Authority.

The proposed law will also provide for investigation and collection of evidence of cyber-crime and unauthorised data collection and breaches as well as admissibility of electronic evidence for such offences.

It will create a technology driven business environment and encourage technological development and the lawful use of technology.

According to the Bill, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) will become the “National Cyber Security Centre”.

This new National Cyber Security Centre is mandated to advise and implement Government policy on cybercrime and cybersecurity, identify areas for intervention to prevent cybercrime and coordinate cybersecurity and establish a national contact point available daily around-the-clock.

It will also establish and operate a protection-assured whistle-blower system that will enable members of the public to confidentially report cases of alleged cybercrime, promote and coordinate activities focused on improving cybersecurity and preventing cybercrime by all interested parties in the public and private sectors.

The National Cyber Security Centre will also provide guidelines to public and private sector interested parties on matters relating to awareness, training, enhancement, investigation, prosecution and combating cybercrime and managing cybersecurity threats.

It will also oversee the enforcement of the Act to ensure that it is enforced reasonably and with due regard to fundamental human rights and freedoms among others.
Section 164 B of the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill, states that: “. . .any person who unlawfully and intentionally by means of a computer or information system generates and sends any data message to another person, or posts on any material whatsoever on any electronic medium accessible by any person, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, threaten, bully or cause substantial emotional distress, or to degrade, humiliate or demean the person of another or to encourage a person to harm himself or herself, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 10 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”

Clauses 165 and 165A of the bill deals with child pornography or exposing pornography to children.

“As such any person who unlawfully and intentionally, through a computer or information system — (a) produces child pornography; (b) offers or makes available child pornography; (c) distributes or transmits child pornography; (d) procures or obtains child pornography for oneself or for another person; (e) possesses child pornography on a computer system or a computer-data storage medium; (f) knowingly obtains, accesses or procures child pornography; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years, or both such fine and such imprisonment,” reads the Bill.

Some people expose children to pornography in some instances to get them aroused for them to be intimate with the predator.

This will now be an offence that can land one in jail for five years.

Nudes and sex tapes have been part and parcel of Zimbabwean entertainment diet over the years.

Some of these sex tapes and nudes would have been leaked by disgruntled ex-spouses.

Now this will be a punishable offence if this Bill is passed into law.

Clause 164E deals with the transmission of data with intimate images without consent (revenge porn), and this will land one in prison for up to five years.

“Any person who unlawfully and intentionally by means of a computer or information system makes available, broadcasts or distributes a data message containing any intimate image of an identifiable person without the consent of the person concerned causing the humiliation or embarrassment of such person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 10 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment,” reads the Bill.

Hackers are also in for it as the proposed prison sentence for them is 10 years.

“Any person who knowing or suspecting that he or she must obtain prior authority to access the data, computer programme, computer data storage medium, or the whole or any part of a computer system in question; and(b)intentionally, unlawfully and without such authority, secures access to such data, programme, medium or system shall be guilty of hacking and liable to a fine not exceeding level 14 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten years or both such fine and such imprisonment,” reads the Bill.