(MISA/IFEX) – On 24 August 1999, the “Herald” newspaper reported that a new law aimed at controlling the dissemination of undesirable material through the Internet, mostly pornography and unsolicited junk mail, might soon be enforced if a proposed draft amendment is made law. The proposed law has been compiled by the Law Development Commission at […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On 24 August 1999, the “Herald” newspaper reported that a new
law aimed at controlling the dissemination of undesirable material through
the Internet, mostly pornography and unsolicited junk mail, might soon be
enforced if a proposed draft amendment is made law.
The proposed law has been compiled by the Law Development Commission at the
request of the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs,
Emmerson Mnangagwa. The new law will ensure that parents, guardians, school
authorities and others looking after children do not access the
objectionable material. Anyone who breaches that law will be liable to
prosecution. The penalties under the law have not yet been determined.
The proposed legislation also provides for the establishment of an Institute
of Internet Service Providers that will be required to adopt a code of
conduct applying to all its members. The code of conduct will require the
Internet Service Providers to, inter alia, advise parents and schools that
have Internet services of the availability of filtering devises.
The Commission has proposed that the law be aimed at protecting young people
under the age of majority (eighteen). It said that the objectionable
material should be defined so as to embrace indecent or obscene material as
already defined in the Censorship and Entertainments Control Act.
Although the Postal and Telecommunication Services Act criminalises the
sending by telephone of any message that is offensive or obscene, the
Commission argues that this law cannot be effectively used to regulate the
Internet. The Censorship and Entertainments Control Act can not effectively
deal with Internet pornography either. The Commission has said that it will
welcome contributions from members of the public before it compiles its
final draft.
