ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND PROTECTION OF PRIVACY ACT (as amended January 2008) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level fourteen or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years. 65 Restriction on ownership of mass media service (1) The following persons and bodies may not be mass media owners— (a) any individual who is not a citizen of Zimbabwe or any body corporate in which a controlling interest is not held, directly or indirectly, whether through any individual, company or association or otherwise, by one or more individuals who are citizens of Zimbabwe; (b) an association of persons or an organisation whose activity is banned or prohibited by law; or (c) any person who is insolvent or bankrupt under a law in force in Zimbabwe or any other country, and has not been rehabilitated or discharged. (2) No person other than— (a) a citizen of Zimbabwe or person who is regarded as permanently resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02]; or (b) a body corporate in which a controlling interest is not held, directly or indirectly, whether through any individual, company or association or otherwise, by one or more individuals who are citizens of Zimbabwe or are regarded as permanently resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02]; may hold or acquire any shares in a mass media service. (3) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent any person who is an existing mass media owner as at 31st January, 2002, from continuing to be a mass media owner after that date to the extent of his ownership on that date. (4) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the Minister may at his or her absolute discretion, grant exemptions from those provisions and permit the Commission to register a mass media service approved by the Minister in which the controlling interest or any portion thereof is held by persons who are not citizens of Zimbabwe. 57 66 Registration of mass media services (1) Subject to section sixty-eight, a mass media owner shall carry on the activities of a mass media service only after registering and receiving a certificate of registration in terms of this Act. 58 (2) An application for the registration of a mass media service whose products are intended for dissemination in Zimbabwe shall be submitted by its owner to the Commission in the form and manner prescribed and accompanied by the prescribed fee. (3) The Commission shall, upon receiving an application for registration, send a notification of receipt of the application to the owner or person authorised by him indicating the date when the application was received, and the Commission shall consider such application within a month of receiving it. 57 Subsection inserted by s. 7 of Act 20/2007. 58 Subsection amended by s. 10 of Act 5/2003. 38