A parliamentary committee on media, information and communication technologies has submitted a report before Zambia's parliament which states that neither the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) nor the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) have the capacity to regulate the use of social media platforms.

Committee chairperson George Imbuwa said, "The committee urges regulatory agencies such as ZICTA and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to devise means of regulating and censoring of undesirable content on social media and not to shut down social media since they have no capacity to regulate them."

Brian Mushimba, Minister of Communications and Transport, said the report would be tabled before cabinet for consideration.

"Government does not want to infringe on people's right to use social media, as people are claiming, but that people should be held accountable for what they do and post online," said Mushimba.

If the report is adopted, it will mean that the government, via ZICTA and the IBA, cannot block platforms, but if it is accepted, authorities will proceed to block sites - without the intervention of ZICTA or the IBA.

Zambia's government made headlines recently because of the controversy surrounding three new cyber security bills, which some believe is an attempt to restrict access to social media platforms.

The Cyber Crime and Cyber Security Bill, Data Protection Bill and E-Commerce Bill are expected to be presented to Parliament during the current session.

To date authorities have refused to make the legislation available for public scrutiny and said the public could submit their views when the Bills are tabled and debated in Parliament.

Zambia's Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Dora Siliya said cyberbullying, fake news and fraud necessitated that internet use be regulated and to encourage more responsible use of social media platforms.

Lewis Mwape, executive director of the Zambia Council for Social Development argued that people will be reluctant to openly discuss national affairs online for fear of being prosecuted.