ANGER AS SOCIAL MEDIA TAX HITS UGANDA

Many Ugandans are turning to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass a new social media tax that came into force on Sunday.

ANGER AS SOCIAL MEDIA TAX HITS UGANDA


Uganda 🇺🇬, Africa


The new law imposes a 200 shilling [$0.05, £0.04] daily levy on people using internet messaging platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Viber.
President Yoweri Museveni had pushed for the changes, arguing that social media encouraged gossip. Critics say the law curtails freedom of expression.
A VPN gets around government censorship by redirecting your internet activity to a computer in a different country.

Now the head of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has said VPNs will be blocked, provoking plenty of responses online:

If you are in Uganda and seeing this post... It's likely you've had to pay a tax to access Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp. But how is taxing the use of social media and communication apps going to affect your social life? 📱💰📱💰 #OTTTax #SocialMediaTax pic.twitter.com/EeFBwiTWjf

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 1, 2018

Stop dancing around the truth people, we need to have a conversation on the current state of affairs in this country.
Having a conversation is not to abuse or insult others but to exchange opinions. #SocialMediaTax #UnfollowGovt

— #UnfollowGovt (@Ugaman01) July 2, 2018

It's not the first time the government has cracked down on social media users.

In 2016, social media platforms were blocked in Uganda on election day to stop people "telling lies", President Museveni said.