announcing his decision, the president said that he “hoped that the law would bring sanity in the way that the internet is used in Zambia”. He further stated that this piece of legislation “…is purely to protect citizens from abuse by people who feel they can do or say whatever they want using the veil of cyberspace. This law is aimed at protecting all Zambians, including those who are against it.
. In such countries these laws have been used to suppress dissent and protect and shield the ruling political elites from public scrutiny. , for example, the authorities shut down the internet following protests in which security forces killed hundreds of people in 2019.The new law in Zambia contains provisions that are incompatible with domestic, regional and international human rights standards.
While states have an obligation to prohibit hate speech, this proscription must serve a legitimate purpose and not be disproportionate. This prohibition aims to protect human rights to equality and non-discrimination, but as “hate speech” is a notoriously difficult concept to define, loose definitions such as this are dangerous because a lack of clarity leaves people unsure what expression is allowed or prohibited, leading to self-censorship.
Zambia, one of many provinces bought by the CCP!