We condemn irresponsible cyber space usage

Creative abstract cyber crime, online piracy and internet web hacking concept: 3D render illustration of the macro view of metal handcuffs and wooden judge mallet, gavel or hammer on laptop notebook computer keyboard with selective focus effect

By Daily Revelation Editor

Ministry of Information and Media permanent secretary Thabo Kawana yesterday warned against abusing the cyber space, saying the perpetrators’ days were numbered.

This was after a fake and alarming story went viral on social media spreading falsehoods that the former Defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, who is currently hospitalized at Maina Soko Military Hospital had died.

Such irresponsibility which borders on alarming the nation can surely not be entertained as it is tantamount to abusing the cyber space. We hope the perpetrators of this specific falsehood will be brought to book and made to answer for their crimes.

It is undeniable that there is a lot of irresponsible use of the cyber space which demands the nation’s collective energies and conscience to address, as more and more innocent people are being harmed everyday on account of the same.

To address this vice, citizens are urged to look before partisanship, tribe and other allegiances as the same status quo cannot be allowed to continue.

However, we can’t address this vice using the undemocratic cyber laws which this UPND administration is intending to enact, which will actually shrink the democratic space further. We all agree that crimes need to be addressed, but that should not be at the expense of people’s freedoms to express opinion and speech.

Besides, there are already more archaic cyber laws in our statute books, which despite being denounced as undemocratic are still in use right now, and can still work to address the criminal aspect, such as the one that was committed yesterday, with the false story about GBM.

Instead of coming up with more punitive laws, we as a country should be talking about repealing the cyber laws which were enacted under the previous PF administration. This is the same piece of legislation which President Hakainde Hichilema, then as an opposition leader and the UPND denounced as undemocratic and promised to repeal once they were elected into office.

We are reminded from the joint civil society organisations statement about the Cyber Security, Cyber Crimes and Anti-Terrorism Bills Kawana is referring to, that they are an affront to democracy and citizens’ rights as they give power to the President over the citizens utilization of the internet. That they give the President and power holders unjustified and barely fettered access to the private communication of citizens, political parties and all entities that use the internet in the country, as well as granting extensive surveillance powers of citizens, citizen groups and enterprises to the state without clear accountability or justification.The CSOs argued that they create vaguely defined crimes that carry highly punitive consequences, while suppressing freedom of expression and dissent.