Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has warned social media group administrators that they could face legal consequences if false information circulates on their platforms.

The warning comes as government begins rolling out its new data protection and cyber security policy which places greater responsibility on administrators to monitor and regulate content.

In a statement, Ziyambi expressed concern over the growing misuse of digital platforms, particularly the spread of unverified claims and damaging rumours.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

"If you are an administrator of a group and you see someone posting something that Mombeshora stole, ask that person to provide evidence of the poster's actions. If they did not, the post must be deleted," he said.

The minister said many users were treating social media as a space for entertainment or mischief often spreading false allegations that harm reputations and fuel misinformation.

"There are people who think that they can just write that someone has done something and lie to you in order to make others laugh in the group," he added.

Ziyambi said under the new measures, administrators would be required to remove posts that cannot be substantiated.

"That is why we want to start implementing our policy that we have put in place for data protection and cyber security so that administrators of the group can now delete the post if they fail to provide proof," he said.

The government recently passed a social media policy designed to clamp down on falsehoods online a move it says will protect citizens from reputational harm.