Why it does not reduce violence, but rather fuels it Kampala, Uganda | JAN RYDZAK | In the wake of a series of coordinated attacks that claimed more than 250 lives on April 21, the government of Sri Lanka shut off its residents’ access to social media and online messaging systems, …
Read More »LENT: ‘Shun social media’
Arua, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Christians have been urged to shun social media during the lent period. The call was made by Fr. Pius Yobuta, the Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish Arua. Speaking during the Ash Wednesday mass, Yobuta told Christians to avoid social media sites like …
Read More »Social media tax payers fall to 6.8 million
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The number of internet subscribers who paid the social media tax reduced from 8.04 million in July 2018 to 6.84 million people in September, according to a quarterly report by Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). The amount of money collected from Over The Top-OTT tax …
Read More »Fans baffled as Liverpool star Mohamed Salah goes offline
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Fans were left baffled on Wednesday after Liverpool’s star Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah appeared to have deleted all of his social media accounts where his followers number in the millions. The Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of Salah, who is idolised in Egypt and Liverpool, …
Read More »Paying more to avoid a tax
What reactions to social media tax reveals about attitudes Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister of ICT and National Guidance is puzzled by the current resistance to the social media tax which his government recently introduced. “Why don’t you want to contribute to your economy?” says Minister …
Read More »Facebook shut 583 million fake accounts
Paris, France | AFP | Facebook axed 583 million fake accounts in the first three months of 2018, the social media giant said Tuesday, detailing how it enforces “community standards” against sexual or violent images, terrorist propaganda or hate speech. Responding to calls for transparency after the Cambridge Analytica data …
Read More »Govt reduces proposed taxes on social media
Kampala, Uganda | PARLIAMENT UG | Government has tabled new proposals to the Tax Bills in a bid to lower the proposed Excise Duty on Over the Top Media Services (OTT) from Sh 200 to Sh100 per day. If carried, those who access and use OTT services, including WhatsApp platforms …
Read More »COMMENT: Taxing social media
Social media should be regulated because it gives out so much information all day long but destroys common sense COMMENT | MICHAEL WOIRA | I know any increase of taxes, as is being proposed by the government in the 2018/19 Financial Year, is a thorny issue. However, I believe in better …
Read More »CSOs ask MPs to reject new taxes on mobile money, social media
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The proposed introduction of new taxes on mobile money transactions and social media has met stiff rejection from civil society activists. Government has proposed to introduce a 10 percent final withholding tax on commissions by telecommunication companies to mobile money and airtime agents and Shillings …
Read More »COMMENT: WhatsApp tax and democracy
How progressive is Uganda’s tax code for an economy that has been hurting since 2016? COMMENT | MORRISON RWAKAKAMBA | As we approach the 2018/2019 Financial Year and the statecraft colour that comes with it – the State of the Nation address and reading of the national budget; the dress rehearsals …
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