The ICT Minister of Zimbabwe announced this week that WhatsApp group administrators who use their groups for commercial purposes would be required to submit an application for a licence.
The Data Protection Authority, which for the purposes of this legislation is the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), is the entity that receives the application for a licence.
The number of users an administrator of WhatsApp has access to determines the licence costs they must pay.
Tier-based charges, starting at a minimum of fifty dollars, vary based on the number of individuals in the group.
According to Statutory Instrument 155 of 2024, the Cyber and Data Protection (Licencing of Data Controllers and Appointment of Data Protection Officers) Regulations, 2024, contain the information you are looking for.
The following is a list of the costs that WhatsApp administrators and other individuals in Zimbabwe that collect and handle the data of individuals will be required to pay:
| Licence categories | Number of People | Yearly Fees (USD) | Application Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | minimum of 50 or a maximum of 1,000 people | $50 | $0 |
| Tier 2 | minimum of 1,001 or a maximum of 100,000 people | $300 | $30 |
| Tier 3 | minimum of $100,000 or a maximum of 500,000 people | $500 | $30 |
| Tier 4 | more than 500,000 people | $2500 | $30 |
