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By Ross Moyo
In 12 months, Zimbabwe’s internet traffic grew by the equivalent of 65 petabytes. That is 65 million gigabytes of new photos, videos, chats, schoolwork and AI prompts. A large share of it was generated by children.
That statistic framed Thursday’s Zimbabwe National Child Online Protection Policy Unpacking Workshop at Holiday Inn Harare, where government told tech companies the free ride is over.
On Connectivity And Data Explosion
Dr. Beulah Chirume, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, said government’s investment in digital infrastructure is now showing in hard numbers:
– Internet penetration: 87.39%
– Broadband penetration: 85.83%
– Mobile penetration: 108.53% – more active SIMs than people
– Data traffic Q1 2025: 114.02 PB
– Data traffic Q1 2026: 179.33 PB
– Growth: +57.28% year-on-year*m
“Zimbabwe’s internet is no longer a luxury. It is infrastructure. This progress is something we are proud of. But progress carries responsibility with it, particularly as artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how our children learn, play and interact online,” Dr. Chirume said.
THE TECH RISK STACK
Behind the petabytes, Dr. Chirume said, are children on WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, ChatGPT and educational platforms.
She listed the emerging threats government is now targeting: cyberbullying, online grooming, sexual exploitation and abuse, harmful AI-generated content, and misuse of children’s data.
“Globally, over 300 million children are victimised online every year, and Zimbabwe’s children are not exempt. Government has a duty to respond with equal seriousness,” she said.
THE 9-PILLAR TECH PLAN: CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IS KEY
Cabinet approved the Zimbabwe National Child Online Protection Policy 2026–2030 on July 10. It was launched in Bulawayo by Vice President Rtd Col Dr K.C.D Mohadi. This is the country’s first framework dedicated entirely to digital child safety.
Dr. Chirume said the workshop’s job is to turn the policy’s 9 strategic focus areas into practical, coordinated measures:
1. Strengthen institutions – regulators, law enforcement cyber units
2. Laws – Drafting of an accompanying Child Online Protection Act is at preliminary stage
3. Prevention and Response – faster reporting and content takedown systems
4. Education – digital literacy in schools
5. Public awareness
6. Corporate Responsibility – ISPs, platforms and telcos must build child safety by design
7. Research – data on online harm trends
8. Cooperation – with UNICEF, Save the Children, private sector
9. Monitoring and Evaluation – metrics to track if interventions work
“This Policy will only be as strong as the implementation plan we build around it,” Chirume told telcos, NGOs and developers. “Tell us where the gaps are, what capacity is missing, and what has and has not worked.”
THE ENFORCEMENT GAP
The biggest admission on Thursday: Zimbabwe has the policy, but not yet the law.
“Government also recognises the need for an accompanying Act, and we are already at the preliminary stages of developing that legislation,” Dr. Chirume said.
Without it, regulators have limited power to fine platforms or compel data sharing.
WHY AI CHANGES EVERYTHING
Unlike past child safety efforts, this policy is being rolled out as generative AI goes mainstream in Zimbabwean classrooms and homes. That puts deepfakes, AI chatbots used for grooming, and automated scraping of kids’ data in scope.
CHILDREN IN THE ROOM
In a first for Zimbabwe, child leaders and young people attended the policy workshop.
“Too often, policies that affect children are discussed in rooms where children themselves are absent. That is not the case today, and it should never be the case again,” Chirume said.
She told them directly: “This Policy exists because your safety matters, and your voice matters in shaping what safety looks like online. Your right to a safe digital experience is equal and non-negotiable.”
PARTNERS AND NEXT STEPS
The Ministry thanked Save the Children for co-hosting and UNICEF for its “pivotal role” in developing and launching the policy.
For Zimbabwe’s booming fintech, edtech and content creators, the message was clear: growth and safety must now be coded together.
“With 179PB of traffic and AI in every app, Zimbabwe is moving from connectivity to accountability. The next 4 years will test whether the law, telcos and schools can keep pace with the tech,” Dr. Chirume concluded.
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