(Ecofin Agency) - The Zambian minister of transport and communication announced that this year, he would enact laws to control the use of internet and its services in order to avoid the use of Internet getting out of hand. These measures are to regulate the use of social media.

The measure has been decided after many complaints by the Presidential spokesman about the multiplication of abuses identified by the public institution.

In view of the growing number of abuses, fake news, insults, threats, hate messages addressed to the State and false accounts attributed to government officials…; the Zambia Information & Communications Technology Authority (Zicta) said that social media control has become inevitable.

Lewis Mwape, executive director of the Zambian Council for Social Development, is not for this decision, according to xinhuanet. He considers it not only as a “choke on freedom of expression” but also as an attack on the country’s democracy “as people will find it difficult to openly discuss national matters amid fears of being prosecuted”. The Zambian Bloggers Network is also against that law.

Let’s note that Zambia is not the first African country that wants to regulate social media in order to stop abuses. Uganda has also considered it for a long time but being unable to ensure effective control, the government decided to create its own social media, this year.