Government To Keep Own Records of Mobile Subscriber ,Incase You Abuse Social Media

Due to rising social media activist and fear of an Arad Spring in Zimbabwe. Since social media activism in Zimbabwe has ignited with the likes of self exiled Pastor Evan Mawarire and the like of #tajamuka. According to stats from Portaz most Zimbabweans are on WhatsApp, a mobile messaging service ,which has been widely used as a tool to mobilize activists during demos. Whatsapp accounts for 34% of all mobile data use in Zimbabwe.About 7 million adults now have access to the internet and most people have mobile phones. Facebook reports 260,000 daily users, of 890,000 Zimbabweans online, but this only accounts for 3% of mobile broadband usage in the country.

After seeing the impact of the social media in Zimbabwe, the government has fast tracked the Computer Crime and Cyber Crime Bill, to control online activism. The new legislation will allow the police to intercept private communications, search and seize any “electronic gadgets,” and send any “abusers” to jail for five years.The new law will also help the extradition of Zimbabweans in other countries who use social media to organise protests at home. But they might find it difficult to keep track of services such as WhatsApp, since it now uses end-to-end encryption.