May 31, 2018

Uganda imposes WhatsApp and Facebook tax 'to stop gossip'

Uganda's parliament has passed a law to impose a controversial tax on people using social media platforms. President Yoweri Museveni had pushed for the changes, arguing that social media encouraged gossip. Experts and at least one major internet service provider have raised doubts about how a daily tax on social media will be implemented, the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga reports from Uganda. He wrote a letter to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija insisting that the revenue collected by the social media tax would help the country "Cope with consequences of olugambo [gossiping]". Social media have become an important political tool in Uganda for both the ruling party and the opposition, our correspondent says.

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