The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has begun the initiation of the mandatory registration of influencers and online publication operating in the country.
The East African country had issued a notice as it regards the registration in March 2018. The notice stated that online publishers (including influencers, online video broadcasters, online radio stations, etc.) are required to pay a $20 registration fee in order to obtain a license that will permit them to “carry out their communication and commercial services online” in Uganda.
The latest move by the UCC is seen as an indirect means to stifle freedom of speech online following the introduction of the infamous OTT (social media) tax in 2018.
The Head of Public Relations at UCC, Ibrahim Bbossa said, “Online publishers and influencers who have reached a capacity of sharing communication content and also using the online publication for commercial business are required to register with the regulator that is UCC. With the growing entity of online publishers, we realized it was important to register these individuals so as they are mindful of the law and regulations as they publish their content to the public.”
Uganda in recent years had set out seeking and implementing measures to stifle online freedom of speech. In 2017, the country declared it had ordered a pornography blocking machine, a project that never came to fruition. In 2018, it introduced the social media tax (OTT tax). The law required everyone in Uganda to pay 200 Ugandan shillings, equivalent to $0.05 or £0.04, for using social media and instant messaging platforms such Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Skype, and many more. The main reason as to why the government has decided to levy the tax on the use of social media said it was because social media and messaging apps were being used by people to spread gossip, primarily – prejudice, opinions, and insults.
Added to this, Uganda has also had its fair share of Internet restrictions and shutdowns around election periods and during protests.
According to iAfrikan, what Uganda is implementing is similar to what Egypt and Tanzania have implemented. However, as in both cases, it is not easy to enforce such a regulation and to clarify how it applies to online publications and influencers who do not have a physical presence in Uganda but whose content is consumed by people in Uganda.
The other consideration is that despite an ISP blocking a specific website, people in Uganda could still use a VPN service to appear to be accessing the website from a different location and more importantly to obfuscate their web browsing.
Above all, the move is more than likely another way for Uganda’s government to censor influencers and online publications who speak against authorities.
“Looking at the example of Egypt that registers online publishers who have more than 50,000 followers, as for UCC, we took a different strategy from them as we are considering registering online publishers who use the online space for communication services, broadcasting services and communication content,” said Bbossa.
