After nearly a month, since the shutdown on the internet, social media finally restored in Uganda. The partial restoration on 18th January left the social media apps off which people have only been able to use with access to VPNs.
The affected applications were WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and many others. The platforms that usually require users to just pay social media tax to gain access were down completely following drastic measures by the government to keep the country peaceful after elections. The platforms that many rely on not only for communication but also for business have been shut down for almost a month.
Facebook was the first social media platform to meet its demise when it took action against pro-NRM Facebook accounts that it blocked on its platform. The government then responded with shutting the app down as he commented that other people cannot be allowed to play in our country.
Soon after, other popular apps like WhatsApp, Instagram and many others met the same end when the entire internet was shutdown. The shutdown of these platforms has resulted in losses amounting to billions for both business owners and the companies that own these platforms as they lost revenue since they couldn’t run ads on the platforms. With social media finally restored in Uganda, hopefully, the companies that own these apps can start recovering from the 4-week losses they’ve incurred.
Also read: Social media shutdown in Uganda gets many off-guard as they struggle to stay connected
The government has since claimed that internet users have taken advantage of these applications to spread wrong information and incite violence which would disrupt the peace. The State Minister for ICT Peter Ogwang commented and said that citizens should stop asking about when the social media platforms would be restored and just wait as the government takes care of perceived threats.
A communication from the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance indicates that the social media platforms were switched off because of continued abuse of these platforms to spread wrong information which the government considered a threat to citizens’ lives.
In reference to the letter, you can conclude that the perceived threats were taken care of and will be dealt with. Experts had implored government to come up with a better way to solve this issue without switching off the internet which has proven to have devastating effects especially on the economy which has been greatly affected.
Social media finally restored in Uganda, the end of VPN
Now 29 days later, after many have gone this long without paying the controversial social media tax and surviving on VPNs, social media is finally restored in Uganda. It’s not certain however if this is temporary and all the threats government claims to exist have disappeared.
Social media finally restored in Uganda which is good news is it marks an end to a dreadful experience as the entire country had to rely on Virtual Private Networks completely to navigate the internet. Many Ugandans have suffered with the VPNs since they’re blocked by some websites and affect the internet’s stability which makes them less reliable.