Zambia’s digital world is once again walking a tightrope between innovation and control. And journalist Brenda Zulu says the signs are familiar.
“We’ve seen this movie before,” she writes. “Every time government or an institution talks about ‘sanity’ or ‘ethics’ in the digital space, it often ends with more control and less freedom.”
Her comment comes as the Zambia Institute of Marketing (ZIM) moves to regulate digital advertising and marketing in the country — a decision that’s already raising eyebrows among online content creators and digital rights advocates.
ZIM Chief Executive Officer Danny Chanda insists the plan is harmless. He says the new Code of Business Practice, set for release in November 2025, will guide ethical advertising and protect consumers. But critics fear it’s a slippery slope toward what they call “the silent return of the social media tax.”
“This is not about consumer protection it’s about control,” said one TikTok content creator. “We already pay taxes to ZRA. Why another layer?”
Brenda Zulu, who has covered Zambia’s digital policy debates for over a decade, draws parallels to 2018 when government introduced a 30 ngwee daily tariff on WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber calls. “That tariff was sold as a way to protect telecom jobs,” she recalls. “But in truth, it punished ordinary citizens for being connected.”
The pattern didn’t stop there. In 2020, the government proposed a Digital Tax on platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook. Then in 2024, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act was revised to include online broadcasting and podcasts a move officials said would “bring sanity,” but which many viewed as a quiet attempt to license digital journalists.
And now, ZIM’s proposal is reopening old wounds. Creators fear another round of control disguised as regulation. “Access to the internet is not a privilege,” says Brenda Zulu. “It’s a right and that right must be protected, not priced.”
With rising data costs, unstable electricity, and slow rural connectivity, Zambia’s online economy is already struggling. For many young people, digital platforms have become their workspace, classroom, and marketplace.
So, as Zambia weighs another round of digital oversight, Brenda Zulu’s words hang heavy:
“We should be nurturing creativity not taxing it out of existence.”
Source: Kumwesu