THE government has said it is considering suggestions by some stakeholders to find means of regulating the use of internet, particularly social media, in order to prevent people from abusing it to perpetrate violence or defame other people.
Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Nicholas Dausi, made the remarks in Zomba when he toured Youth Net and Counselling (Yoneco) Offices to appreciate how the institution is using technology to curb violence against women.
During the briefing, Yoneco’s Programmes Manager, Charles Banda, revealed that statistics which the institution has gathered through its helpline has shown that there is an increase of cyber crimes targeting girls and women.
Based on this, Banda asked the minister to engage other professionals who can find means of ending the cyber crimes.
In his response, Dausi said the government is aware how people are abusing the social media and that the government is already planning to police the use of internet.
He indicated that, the government is consulting on best laws that can help stop cyber crimes in order to protect people.
“It has always been the government’s wish to find laws that regulate the use of social media such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and the whole internet. What we have discovered is that there is gross violation of people’s rights through these media platforms and we don’t want that to continue,” he said.
He added: “It is true that we have freedom of speech but we must put into consideration that we cannot use our freedom of speech to defame others. This is where we are finding it necessary to introduce a law that can protect people from being abused.”
The minister said even though there is abuse of the internet in the country, proper use of internet can help to develop the country.
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