WhatsApp Group Admin Licences: ICT Minister Doubles Down
ICT Minister Mavetera dismissed the viral news as fake suggesting that her LinkedIn post was misunderstood.
WhatsApp Group Admin Licences: ICT Minister Doubles Down
Information Technology minister Tatenda Mavetera says there are no plans to licence WhatsApp group administrators.
The minister who was quoted in a LinkedIn post last week as saying WhatsApp group admins will be required to get licences starting at $50 going upwards to $2,500 seems to have doubled down after a massive outcry.
Zimbabwe WhatsApp Group Admins to Pay for Licenses
in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mavetera said:
“I would like distance myself from the malicious fake news of intentions by government to licence or penalise WhatsApp Groups or Administrators of any social media platform/s USD 2500.
“This claim is not applicable especially to players who do not collect and process Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for commercial or business use.
“Personally identifiable information (PII) is any type of data that can be used to identify someone, from their name and address to their phone number, passport information and I.D. number.
WhatsApp Group Admin Licences: ICT Minister Doubles Down
“The public is encouraged to disregard this notice with the uttermost discontent it deserves as it is inconsistent with our legal provisions as espoused in Statutory Instrument (SI) 155 of the 2024 Cyber and Data Protection (Licencing of Data controllers and Appointment of Data Protection Officers) Regulations.
“On my LinkedIn post I never expressed any intentions to licence or penalise WhatsApp groups or Administrators of any social media platform/s which do not collect and process (Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for commercial or business use.
“I wish to assure the public of government's commitment through the Ministry of Information Communication Technology Postal and Courier Services to accelerate cyber and data democratisation and security to ensure that No One and No Place is Left Offline.
“This is in line with our overarching mandate to the constitution to promote access to information for all in a safe and secure environment.”
