Citizens have been urged to be wary of the information they share and consume on public platforms in order to protect themselves from contravening the Data Protection Act.
This came out during a Digital Literacy workshop facilitated by Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter in collaboration with Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR), Tuesday, to unpack the Data Protection Act.
Misa-Zimbabwe legal and information communication technology policy officer Nompilo Simanje, addressing members of CSOs said technology has become part of human existence and there is need for laws to protect people.
Simanje said the Data Protection Act seeks to increase data protection in order to build confidence and trust in the secure use of information and communication technologies by data controllers, their representatives and data subject.
“Data can be an advantage or disadvantage to the people depending on how it is used. In the context of data collection and distribution, there is need for consent for the receiving party to agree or disagree to giving out data or receiving it,” she said.
“It is also very important for people to be wary of the information that they put out on public platforms. There is some sensitive information that people must not give out, information that may expose them to harm or danger.”
MIHR coordinator Khumbulani Maphosa reiterated the importance of educating citizens on the Act to protect them from violating the law as well as to alert them on how the law can protect them when their rights are violated.
“We are grateful for this kind of information. It is our responsibility as human rights activists to ensure that we make efforts to disseminate information to the people. They need to know how to protect themselves and to be protected by the Act,” he said.
“It is also important for us to make sure that we translate this information to local languages so that everyone can have access to it in a language that they understand the most.”
