Cyber Bill recommitted to Senate over errors

Cyber Bill recommitted to Senate over errors

The Cybersecurity and Data Protection Bill has been recommitted to the Committee Stage in the Senate due to errors that have been identified.

 Last week the Bill had sailed through the same Committee Stage without objections from the Senators.

However, making the announcement on Thursday, the Deputy President of the Senate confirmed that the Bill had been recommitted.

‘’I wish to inform the Senate that there is an error on the Cyber and Data Protection Bill [H. B. 18A, 2019] and that the Bill will be re-committed in terms of Standing Order Number 158,’’ he said.

According to Misa Zimbabwe, ‘’Recommittal means the clauses that need to be attended to have been referred back to the Committee Stage in the Senate for further attention.

‘’Upon completion of this process, the Bill will undergo its Third Reading before being passed,’’ read the statement.

Misa Zimbabwe’s position on the Bill

MISA Zimbabwe’s position on the Bill is that it must be unbundled into three separate components. The components are namely: Cyber Security, Electronic Transactions and Data Protection Bills.

The media watchdog is of the view that these were wide and complex issues that cannot be attended to in an omnibus bill as being proposed.

Misa Zimbabwe is also not happy with the new roles that are being given to POTRAZ, in the Bill.

‘’Other issues pertained to the role of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).

‘’MISA Zimbabwe recommended that an independent data protection authority that is answerable to Parliament while its appointment processes are publicly conducted as is the case in other jurisdictions and best practice.

‘’The Authority should be accountable to Parliament and not the Executive to minimize the possibility of abuse of power by the Executive.

‘’Further, the rights of data subjects should be clearly defined, listed and reinforced with specific sections on their applications and should include the right of access, the right to be notified when there is a security breach among others,’’ said Misa Zimbabwe.

The organisation is also of the view that the Bill should also clearly set guarantees for the protection of whistle-blowers as well as other concrete steps in the handling of investigations that result from whistle-blowing revelations.

Concern was also raised on the term and use of “remote forensic tool” without providing judicial oversight on the use of such technologies.

MISA Zimbabwe, through its Chairperson, Golden Maunganidze, in its submissions to parliament, said such “far-reaching “  technologies should not be resorted to except in specified circumstances provided for under judicial oversight- #CyberLawsZW

Cyber Bill recommitted to Senate over errors