WhatsApp Group Admins Now Require Data Protection Licence In Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) now mandates that administrators of WhatsApp groups within the country must secure a license to operate.
The licensing fees vary from $50 to US$2,500, depending on the nature of the WhatsApp group, as part of a new regulatory framework introduced by POTRAZ.
The government has justified this move as necessary for strengthening data security and privacy protections for Zimbabwean citizens.
Information Communications Technology Minister Tatenda Mavetera confirmed that all WhatsApp group administrators will soon be required to register with POTRAZ and obtain an official license.
In addition to the licensing requirement, administrators must also appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO), who must be trained and certified by POTRAZ to ensure compliance with Zimbabwe’s Data Protection Act.
Mavetera said the move is aimed at enforcing the Data Protection Act, which governs the handling of personal data, including phone numbers shared within WhatsApp groups.
The new requirements will impact not just businesses, but also community organizations, churches, and any other groups that collect and manage personal data through WhatsApp. Said Mavetera:
The time is ticking for organisations that collect first-party data, as you are required by law to have a data protection licence and the license fees range from $50 to $2500.
Furthermore, a data protection officer(DPO) who is trained and certified by POTRAZ should be appointed by such a licensee and the appointment should be communicated to POTRAZ.
Even churches that collect personal data ought to have such a licence and appoint a DPO.
Whatsapp group admins are not spared too, if your groups are meant for business, you should as well obtain a licence. Failure to comply attracts penalties.
The fees are structured in four tiers:
Tier 1: For groups with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 1,000 people, the annual fee is $50, with no application fee.
Tier 2: For groups with 1,001 to 100,000 people, the annual fee is $300, and an application fee of $30 applies.
Tier 3: For groups with 100,001 to 500,000 people, the annual fee is $500, with a $30 application fee.
Tier 4: For groups with more than 500,000 people, the annual fee is $2,500, with a $30 application fee.
The law right now says “personal, family or household affairs” are exempt from licensing.
Also exempt are law enforcement and journalistic, historical or archival purposes.
Responding to Mavetera, Chipo Sibongile Mapungwana, said the regulations will further impoverish Zimbabweans. She wrote:
Good day, Minister. Zimbabwe people are getting more and more impoverished. How does your Ministry justify licensing WhatsApp groups that are meant to keep family members in the loop and business people, staff members etc communicating with each other or clubs and churches sending messages to their members?
We are the worst-taxed nation in the region, and your Ministry and POTRAZ want to add Whatsapp group fees to overburdened citizens.
In what other country are WhatsApp group made to pay a license?
This is not a Citizen friendly regulation and it will just anger people against your Ministry and POTRAZ…
It seems that the ICT Ministry and POTRAZ want to make billions of dollars yearly from poor Zimbabweans.
We are taxed by the Ministry of Finance for every transaction we make, we are taxed by shops, we pay exorbitant data fees, and Vehicle and ZBC licences and taxed by ZIMRA.
Now your Ministry wants to make us pay for WhatsApp Groups?
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