Uganda internet users drop after social media tax

21st Feb 2019 | Source: BBC

Ugandans have abandoned the internet in the millions after the government imposed a social media tax last year, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has said.

President Yoweri Museveni had pushed for the taxes to boost government revenue and to end "gossip" on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribers have to pay a tax for using social media tax and transferring money through mobile phone payments set at 200 Ugandan shillings [$0.05, £0.04] per day.

The UCC said internet subscription declined by more than 2.5 million users and money being transferred through mobile phones payments also fell by $1.2m (£920,000) since July 2018.

“The decline in the amount of business could partly be explained by the introduction of mobile money tax,” the UCC said.

The BBC's Newsday presenter Alan Kasujja spoke to technology entrepreneur Albert Mucunguzi about the effects of the social media tax.