LAZ Advocates for International Best Practices in Zambia’s Cybersecurity Legislation

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) acknowledges Government’s efforts to address cyber threats and terrorism through proposed legislation including the Cybersecurity Bill currently before the floor of National Assembly. However, we are deeply concerned that certain provisions risk undermining fundamental rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and are not aligned with our national values and principles of good governance, democracy and constitutionalism enshrined in Article 8 of the Constitution.

These provisions may contravene fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression. For instance, the proposed surveillance measures under Parts V and VIII could enable mass data collection by the State without judicial oversight, creating risks of abuse and eroding public trust. Terms like ‘misinformation’ and ‘national security threat’ are undefined, leaving room for subjective interpretation and potential misuse.
Effective laws should ensure that security measures are proportionate, necessary, and subject to robust oversight mechanisms to safeguard constitutional freedoms. Laws must also not hinder citizen’s rights to hold accountable those given the mantle to Govern, as there can be no democracy without people’s effective participation in Governance.

We recommend mandatory judicial oversight for surveillar.ce requests, clear definitions of key terms, and penalties for misuse of powers under these Bills.
We urge the Government to undertake extensive consultations on these Bills with civil society organisations, human rights advocates, legal experts, the private sector, and the general public to ensure inclusivity. Rushing the process of enactment of these Bills will do more harm, than good, in the absence of wider stakeholder consultations.

We strongly recommend that Government aligns these Bills with international best practices, such as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which balances security with individual freedoms.

We therefore call on Government to withdraw the Bills from National Assembly and allow for a transparent and meaningful consultative process with all stakeholders before their re-introduction on the floor of the House.

– Excerpt from LAZ’s Press Release