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Briefing
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- Social Media Tax – Ugandan Parliament passed legislation to tax users of over-the-top (OTT) social media platforms, including 60 popular apps, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, with goals to generate revenue to turn Uganda into middle-income country by 2020
- Individual Tax Revenue – About 17 million people, 41% of Uganda's population, use internet and will be taxed $0.05 each to access any OTT platform, translating to $19 per year for each Ugandan living on less than $1 per day
- Network Operator Compliance – Telecommunications companies comply with social media tax, since it requires no new technology to implement, and have started sharing instructions on how to pay social media taxes to users
- User Criticism – Activists argue that social media tax curtails freedom of speech and will ultimately leave Ugandans poorer, leaving users to look for tax-free methods to access OTT platforms, such as virtual private networks (VPN)
- Lawsuit – Four users, one technology company, and one journalist filed lawsuit at Constitutional Court against Uganda Communications Commission, Uganda Revenue Authority, and country’s Attorney General, claiming social media tax as an attack to freedom of speech
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