The Interception of Communications Act provides wide-ranging powers to state security agencies to have access to personal data. Section 5 mandates that intelligence, defence, police, and prison services request warrants of interception from the executive in charge of postal and telecommunication services. Section 9 of the Interception of Communications Act instructs ISPs to install necessary surveillance technologies and intercept any content that the state may deem fit. In addition, Section 9 obliges data services providers and processors to cooperate with the state in enabling data access. To this end, data processors are instructed to capture full personal information, regularly update it, and use technologies that can be intercepted.
It is reported that warrants allowing the monitoring and interception of communications are issued by the Minister of Information at their discretion. Consequently, there is no adequate judicial oversight or other independent safeguard against abuse, and the extent and frequency of monitoring remains unknown.

The Postal and Telecommunications Act allows the government to intercept ostensibly suspicious communications (Section 98) and requires a telecommunications licensee, such as an ISP, to supply information to government officials upon request. It is not clear whether a court order is required.

The Cyber and Data Protection Act provides for a safe harbour regime in Zimbabwe. This is provided for in Section 379C(1), which states that an ISP shall not be responsible or liable for a crime if they have not initiated the transmission, selected the receiver of the transmission and/or modified the information contained in the transmission. Most importantly, the Act provides that the ISPs will not be liable for data carried on their platforms and those of intermediaries if they remove it after a court order. In addition, ISPs and intermediaries will not be liable if they remove the information upon their realisation or gain knowledge that the information is illegal.

The Cyber and Data Protection Act provides for a safe harbour regime in Zimbabwe. This is provided for in Section 379C(1), which states that an ISP shall not be responsible or liable for a crime if they have not initiated the transmission, selected the receiver of the transmission and/or modified the information contained in the transmission. Most importantly, the Act provides that the ISPs will not be liable for data carried on their platforms and those of intermediaries if they remove it after a court order. In addition, ISPs and intermediaries will not be liable if they remove the information upon their realisation or gain knowledge that the information is illegal.

According to Art. 5.1 of the Postal and Telecommunications (Subscriber Registration) Regulations, 2013. Telecommunications providers must each establish a subscriber database of all SIM card holders, connecting their phone number to their name, address, gender, nationality, and passport or ID number. The law obliges service providers to regularly hand over copies of this data to the government, which will then establish its own central subscriber information database.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Zimbabwe for the year 2023. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

According to Art. 7.1 of the Broadcasting Services Act, no person may provide a broadcasting service or operate as a signal carrier in Zimbabwe without a broadcasting licence or a signal carrier licence. Art. 7.2 specifies that a broadcasting licence authorises the licensee to offer various types of broadcasting services, including narrowcasting, datacasting, and webcasting. However, under Art. 8.1, a broadcasting licence can only be issued to individuals who are citizens of Zimbabwe or to a corporate entity in which a controlling interest is held, whether directly or indirectly, by one or more Zimbabwean citizens.
Art. 7 of Broadcasting Services (Licensing and Content) Regulations, 2004 provides the licensing requirements for narrowcasting, datacasting, and webcasting. It is reported that the Zimbabwean authorities might use this section to require licensing fees for video-on-demand and live-streaming services (YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, etc.), and, as a result, smaller companies have to obtain licenses ranging from USD 2,500 to USD 20,000.

Zimbabwe has a telecommunications authority: The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). However, it is reported that this entity is not fully independent.

Section 8 of the Postal and Telecommunications (Subscriber Registration) Regulations of 2014 stipulated that subscriber information in the telecom sector must not be transferred outside the Republic of Zimbabwe. An amendment in 2019 introduced new provisions. According to the revised Section 8, if transferring subscriber information to a foreign host becomes necessary or unavoidable for operational purposes, the service provider must ensure that the data is encrypted to prevent it from being read by the foreign host. The local service provider is required to retain the encryption keys to prevent unauthorised access. Additionally, before entering into any storage arrangement, the service provider must submit a report on data protection measures and hosting agreements to the relevant authority. Furthermore, the service provider must obtain clear, affirmative consent in writing from the subscriber for the transfer of personal data and must not sell, trade, or share the transferred data.
Reports indicate that the approvals of the regulators for data transfers are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Sections 28 and 29 of the Cyber and Data Protection Act establish a framework for the cross-border transfer of data. Data can be transferred to countries that offer adequate protection. In addition, data can be transferred if it is in the public interest to do so. The data subject must provide consent for their information to be transferred. However, this consent may also be implied or offered ambiguously.
Moreover, Section 11 of the Cyber and Data Protection Act prohibits the processing of sensitive personal information unless with the consent of the data subject or where processing is for legitimate purposes. Sensitive data, according to Section 3, includes social, political, and cultural information, as well as health and genetic information, and any information which may be considered as presenting a significant risk to the rights of the data subject.

Zimbabwe has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Zimbabwe is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Zimbabwe has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Part III of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act lists the exceptions, which include the use with purposes of research or private study, educational use of copyright material, criticism, review, or news reporting, among others.

It is reported that copyright is not adequately enforced online in Zimbabwe. Pirating of books, videos, music, and computer software is reported to be common in the country.

Zimbabwe has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.