As of July 1st,social media use in Uganda became a taxable activity, with users of Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Tinder and dozens of other services all hit by new legislation.
Everything from Tinder to Tumblr must be blocked, according to the government decree, and ISPs allow users to make the tax payment from their mobile phones.
Users are now flooding to VPNs to avoid this new assault on their pockets, VPN use has gone through the roof. In response, the government says it has ordered local ISPs to begin blocking VPNs.
Below are the examples of OTT which social media tax will affect starting from 1st .july .2018 in uganda.#UgandaSocialMedia pic.twitter.com/bW24lPxqJG
— Isaac Nahamya (@inahamya) June 28, 2018
In a joint statement, ISPs MTN, Airtel, and Africell informed their customers that the services listed above would be blocked until payment is made. Payment must be made in advance via mobile phones, with a small discount available if customers pay a month up front.
Within hours of the news that VPNs were gaining in popularity, the government stepped in to do something about it.
In a statement, Uganda Communications Commission Executive Director, Godfrey Mutabazi said that Internet service providers would be ordered to block VPNs to prevent citizens from avoiding the social media tax.
If it happens in Uganda, it can happen anywhere else even though Nigerian senates have already passed the bill for second reading.
As Internet users we also pay taxes on our ISP bills but what if the government stepped in and taxed certain online activities as well?
Prof cant they access the sites by using wifi
Wi-fi is still under ISP control except via vpn that the government is also trying to block
ok thanks so which free VPN is good for android
This Uganda government are very serious about this…
This is really serious
Greed and politicians are like identical twins because the revenue from this tax will still end up in some thieving politician pocket.
So why is Africa governments try to get money with social networks they never build? This people are mad. They must be a solution anyway
Their government isn’t smiling at all. I wonder how Nigerians will react when it comes to their doors
street things, but the government has no joy o
This na Technology war Hopefully Ugandans win d war
They will still mismanage the fund, evil and people.
Totally terrible from d ugandan govt
They Haven’t build before, yet the want to make money from another Person hand work. Na wa for Our Gov’t oh.
As for Uganda Something is worrying them in there brain. The would have closed down all na.
I pray this doesn’t happen in 9ja, if it does, alot of us are not gonna be using the internet anymore
dre will always be a way to bypass dis stuff just dat it might take time, we have hackers around just bcos of issues like dis
leave it to a foreign hacker to bring salvation. nothing can ever truly be stopped
They are serious abt this…..but I don’t know VPN can be blocker ld
I’m sure the hacker in them will find a way out
I trust naija, block everything blockable.. We go still dhy every social media socialable…
Countries in Africa are just trying to ban Internet
They are using tricks
African leaders and misplaced priorities