UCC directs Internet Service Providers to block access to unauthorised blogs & forums

The Uganda Communications Commission is fond of making directives these days and one joining the list is about Internet Service Providers (ISPs) blocking access to online news and media sites that are not in books with the communications regulator.

This comes after the same commission served a notice to persons/ entities providing online data communication services or what you can loosely translate as blogs,vlogs, forums etc  asking them to register with it. April 2nd was set as the deadline but as of this writing, only 14 of Ugandan blogs and news sites have registered.

In a letter addressed to Internet Service Providers, UCC clearly states the few (the 14) that have been able to abide to the earlier directive. These are classified as ones that applied for and the commission is considering their applications for authorisation to provide  online data communication services in Uganda.

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Of the fourteen, only two have so far been  authorised while the remaining twelve have their applications in the process as clearly shown below

A large number of other service providers are not yet registered and blocking traffic to their respective media properties could pose a huge blow, as UCC again directed the Internet Service Providers to block access to any online data communications provider not listed above.