Social Media in Uganda has been under general lockdown since the eve of the January 14th general elections and today we have seen a partial lifting of the ban on some sites apart from Facebook. We expect it to be fully restored as well. The govt had vowed to maintain the ban until the security operatives were satisfied with the political situation and the ability for social media to maintain the status quo once open.
This ban was among the several reasons why VIACOM has to temporarily suspend the MAMA awards. This means Ugandans will be able to access apps like, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Snapchat, Zoom. The govt had also blocked most used VPNs including other sites like GitHub. But one has to pay their OTT tax in order to access those services.
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At the time when the sites were banned, the govt believed the citizens would be happy that social media was shut down to ensure their safety. This came at a time when the majority of Ugandans including government agencies, MPs, and civil servants were already using these online social platforms by utilizing VPNs to bypass their own restrictions. The ban has not only affected social media businesses, but also the government’s ability to collect OTT taxes. We know for sure is that VPNs are going to be trending top downloads because everyone now knows this won’t be the last time for the govt to switch off social platforms.
Now that social media is back, will you still be using VPN or pay your OTT? You can answer in our poll below.
