Apply Now | Are you interested in Internet Freedom? Are you worried about the social and economic impact of internet shutdowns? The increase of media censorship? Is your government using outdated media laws to regulate online spaces? Are they inventing new policies to clamp down on internet users? Do you want to do something about it?! Then read on! In the lead up to the 2018 Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica), Small Media and theCollaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) are hosting a 2-day interactive capacity building workshop on Internet Freedom and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The workshop is part of a wider project working to support civil society organisations across Africa to engage with the UPR process through research, capacity development and developing tools to support internet freedom advocacy. If your application is accepted, you’ll join us in Accra, Ghana, where you and your co-participants will work together on interactive projects with the guidance of our trainers and mentors. You’ll be introduced to the UPR process, learn how to leverage different moments during the UPR timeline for advocacy, practice gathering and analysing data and creating infographic material to campaign around key issues relating to internet freedom, and create a practical advocacy plan that you can implement to follow up on recommendations made in the periodic reviews. The shining stars who attend this workshop will also have the opportunity to apply to attend a DATA4CHAN.GE (D4C) workshop in 2019 where they will develop data driven advocacy campaigns that support independent research or organisation UPR objectives. Eligibility This call is open to individuals who are interested in and preferably have experience in human rights advocacy and are active in the following countries: Angola, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Applicants must have knowledge of Africa’s ICT sector and its role in development and governance. Participants must ensure availability for the duration of the workshop as well as FIFAfrica – 4 days excluding travel. Interested? Complete the application form here. The deadline for applications is 18.00 East African Time on July 31, 2018. For questions, please email [email protected].
By Juliet Nanfuka |
As of midnight on July 1, 2018, telecom companies in Uganda blocked access to social media platforms for all users and required them to pay a newly introduced Over-The-Top” (OTT) tax before regaining access. The tax resulted from a March 2018 presidential directive for social media to be taxed to raise resources “to cope with the consequences” of social media users’ “opinions, prejudices [and] insults”.
“In a context in which social media has served as many users’ initial entry point to the internet, this tax could negatively impact the affordability and broader use of the internet, particularly by low-income Ugandans, as well as stifle freedom of expression, association and assembly online.”
Joint oral statement to UN Human Rights Commission on Social Media Taxes by APC, CIPESA, Derechos Digitales and WOUGNET
The directive proposed that up to UGX 400 billion (USD 108 million) per annum could be collected through the taxes. Projections from the June 14 national budget speech for the fiscal year 2018/19 indicated that up to UGX 486 billion (USD 131 million) could be collected annually by 2022. Earlier in May, Uganda’s parliament passed the Excise Duty Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which introduced a mandatory fee of UGX 200 (USD 0.05) per day of use for services that include messaging and voice calls via Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype and Viber.
The tax will likely push basic connectivity further out of reach for millions. At the USD 0.05 per day, a Ugandan user would need to fork out USD 1.5 per in monthly fees to access the OTT services. That would be hugely prohibitive since the average revenue per user (ARPU) of telecom services in Uganda stands at just USD 2.5 per month.
According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), at the end of 2016, a 1GB mobile broadband plan in Uganda cost more than 15% of average monthly income. The A4AI further states that with the excise duty in place, this cost to connect for Uganda’s poorest will jump by 10%, resulting in just 1GB of data costing them nearly 40% of their average monthly income. Section 2 of the Excise Duty Amendment Act provides that the tax will apply to “the transmission or receipt of voice or messages over the internet protocol network and includes access to virtual private networks but does not include educational or research sites prescribed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.” The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has listed sites such as professional networking platform LinkedIn and dating sites such as Badoo and Tinder among those that would be accessed only upon payment. The government has not stated what constitutes educational or research sites.
As of September 2017, Uganda had an internet penetration rate of 48%, in a country of 41 million people. Research shows that at least one in nine internet users in the country is signed up for a social networking site, with Facebook and WhatsApp the most popular. The introduction of the tax has accordingly elicited strong opposition from users including the limitation of payment only through mobile money, Electronic Virtual Cash (EVC) or any electronic wallet.
The Excise Duty Amendment Act also introduced a 1% tax on the value of every mobile money transaction which users will also have to pay in addition to the OTT tax. The Act also raised the tax on airtime for cellular, landline and public payphones from 5% to 12% and increased the tax on mobile money transfers from 10% to 15%.
Who pays the mobile charges incurred by using mobile money to pay the Social Media tax? Is this cost accounted for in your 200/= or is it over and above? #SocialMediaTax
Some users are expressing frustration with having to pay twice – first the OTT tax, then the 1% tax on every mobile money transaction – in order to access social media and other blocked sites.
Many social media users have turned to using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to remain online and avoid the taxes. This is a similar stance to that taken during 2016, when Uganda had social media shutdowns on two occasions, leading to a surge in VPN use. However, access to some VPN sites – particularly free ones – has also been blocked and knowledge about VPN access and use is largely limited to tech savvy users. Further, there remains concern on the extent to which VPNs will be an affordable option due to their heavy data requirements.
The consumption of data by most of these VPNs will leave a handlful of Ugandans with 2 options.
A poll conducted by Daily Monitor newspaper on its Twitter handle showed that 19% of the 581 tweeps who participated would spend less time on social media, 11% would stop using social media, while 70% would resort to using VPN.
Further, imposition of the tax has consequences on net neutrality which requires that the Internet be maintained as an open platform on which network providers treat all content, applications and services equally, without discrimination. The tax effectively limits access to social media sites which are a primary entry point for many new users to the internet in developing countries including Uganda. Indeed, it is in social media platforms that many have found relatable local content including avenues for knowledge exchange, civic participation and economic opportunity.
Telecommunications companies had previously sought to tap into the popularity of OTTs by offering competitive social medias data packages – such as such as MTNs SWIFT (Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) and WTF (WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook) – resulting in what was popularly referred to as “data price wars” that led to a drop in the price of access.
Meanwhile, the state also found value in the use of social media as an avenue for engaging with citizens and required all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to pursue a social media strategy to promote state-civic interaction which aimed at “improving effectiveness of communication, sharing of information and open engagement and discussions with the Public.” Results of the Uganda national IT survey 2017/18 indicated that 92% of MDAs have a social media presence with most using Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp as their primary platforms for information dissemination and engagement with citizens. Source: National IT Survey 2017/18
The Uganda government did not conduct any public consultations before introducing the OTT tax, which is testament to the absence of a multi-stakeholder model of internet governance that would enable the perspectives of diverse stakeholders to support more informed policy decisions. This tax comes on the heels of a directive last March by the communications regulator for registration of online content providers. Uganda is potentially setting a worrying trend for the region, as neighbours Tanzania and Congo have similarly issued stringent online content regulations that threaten citizens’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression and promote self-censorship.
This statement is delivered on behalf of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Derechos Digitales, and the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET).
As organisations committed to maintaining the use of the internet for human rights, social justice and sustainable development, we are concerned about the increase in threats to freedom of expression online. Attacks on freedom of expression online are taking many forms, including internet shutdowns, regressive cybercrime laws, and privatisation of censorship, among others.
We wish to highlight for the attention of the Council the following situations of concern:
In Uganda, the government adopted a “social media tax” in May, which will require users of over-the-top (OTT) services, including messaging and voice calls via WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and Viber. to pay a mandatory fee of USD 0.05 per day of use. In a context in which social media has served as many users’ initial entry point to the internet, this tax could negatively impact the affordability and broader use of the internet, particularly by low-income Ugandans, as well as stifle freedom of expression, association and assembly online. Similarly, the recent introduction of stringent online content regulations in Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic of Republic of Congo threaten citizens’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression and promote self-censorship.
In Latin America, we observe a trend by governments in the region to regulate online expression that is critical of dominant political forces or that amplifies dissident voices of traditionally discriminated groups, under the guise of “online hate speech” or “cybersecurity”. Examples can be found in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay and Venezuela, among others. In some cases, legislative reforms have been introduced just before the start of electoral processes or the rise of social movements; in others, restrictive measures are administratively established, bypassing democratic legislative processes entirely. We also observe efforts in the region to criminalise expression and to require private companies to moderate online content, an issue addressed in detail by the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. This implies an undermining of due process, as required by international human rights standards, by delegating the function of the judiciary to the private sector. At the same time, it incentivises companies to err on the side of caution and take down content to avoid facing high fines or, in the case of Venezuela, the threat of revocation of authorisation to operate.
We urge the Council with its bi-annual resolution on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet to condemn and call for the end to such restrictions on online expression, and to adopt human rights-based approaches to internet access and regulation.
Announcement |
The Collaboration for International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is pleased to announce the fifth edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica). This year, the Forum will be hosted in partnership with the Media Foundation West Africa (MFWA) and will take place on September 26–28, 2018 in Accra, Ghana.
The Forum is a landmark event that convenes various stakeholders from the internet governance and online rights arenas in Africa and beyond to deliberate on gaps, concerns and opportunities for advancing privacy, access to information, free expression, non-discrimination and the free flow of information online on the continent.
Since inception, FIFAfrica has also served as a platform to mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). Engagements at the Forum aim to reflect current trends and concerns in access and usage of the internet and related technologies on the continent. As such, each year has seen us launch themed research on the State of Internet Freedom in Africa. Last year, we also launched a key report on Calculating the Economic Cost of Internet Disruptions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
While the 2014, 2015 and 2016 editions of FIFAfrica were hosted in Uganda, in 2017, the Forum was hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), an international network and non-profit organisation that works towards a free and open internet.
Indeed, spreading the physical footprint of FIFAfrica across different regions of the continent ensures that the Forum lives up to its goal of unpacking internet freedom challenges and opportunities in sub-regions of Africa and developing responses that are collaborative, and informed by insights from the experience of other sub-regions of the continent. Hosting the Forum in in west Africa for the first time will not only open up the space to more west African civil society, private sector and public sector actors to contribute their experiences to the regional discussion, but will also give life to the Forum’s commitment of ensuring broader regional representation and deepening conversations across the continent.
At a practical level, skills development among participants is prioritized. Previous Forums have seen our partners AccessNow and DefendDefenders host digital security clinics. In 2017, The Localisation Lab hosted a localization sprint aimed at advancing the adoption of internet freedom tools in East and Southern Africa through translation of technologies and creation of key resources to support the education, training, and adaptation of digital security and circumvention tools in the region. This included the translation of tools into languages like Shona, Luganda, and Ndebele.
Other skills development events at the Forum have in the past included a workshop on Strategic Digital Rights Litigation hosted in partnership with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and the Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) and a workshop on human rights review mechanisms, which took participants through African and United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Reviews processes which was hosted by APC, CIPESA and Small Media.
With strategic linkages to other internet freedom forums and support for the development of substantive inputs to inform the conversations on human rights online happening at national level, at the African Union and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), the African Internet Governance Forum (IGF), subregional IGFs, the global IGF, Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF), the Internet Freedom Festival (IFF), the Internet Freedom Forum (Nigeria) and RightsCon, among others, FIFAfrica provides a pan-African space where discussion from these other events can be consolidated at continent-wide level, drawing a large multi-stakeholder audience of actors.
Share your thoughts on your vision for Internet Freedom in Africa using #InternetFreedomAfrica This year, the event hashtag is #FIFAfrica18 Propose A Session For #FIFAfrica18
Do you have suggestions of session topics, panels, skills clinics, presentations or any additional activities that you’d like to see happen prior or alongside the Forum. Use this form to submit your ideas. Be A Part of #FIFAfrica18
Do you want to exhibit your work at #FIFAfrica18? Would you like to support #FIFAfrica18? Please send us an email: [email protected]
Announcement | The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is the newest member of the civil society constituency of the Global Network Initiative.
CIPESA works to inform policymakers and other stakeholders across the African continent about the connection between rights-based ICT policies and good governance and improved livelihoods. GNI will benefit from CIPESA’s policy and legal expertise to advance Internet freedom and privacy in Africa, and from its convening power as coordinator of the regional ICT4Democracy in East Africa Network and hosts of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica).
Through engagement with GNI companies and experts, CIPESA hopes GNI membership will allow them to widen their network, and enhance their multi-stakeholder approach at the global level. CIPESA’s Executive Director Dr. Wairagala Wakabi said: “Our membership will enable us to gain more skills and knowledge from a multiplicity of important actors, to continue playing the role of multipliers and advocates who are able to reach wide audiences and to influence the perceptions and actions of relevant African actors on digital rights.”
Some highlights of CIPESA’s work include an intensive regional training on ICT policy research for different stakeholders, annual reporting on the trends affecting Internet freedom across Africa, and analyses or commentary on corporate transparency and laws and policies on the ground in a number of countries, including Burundi, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania. You can learn more about their work, which has received wide coverage.
CIPESA’s membership marks a period of notable expansion for GNI’s civil society constituency in the Global South. For more information about CIPESA, visit: CIPESA.org. To learn more about GNI’s multi-stakeholder membership see here.
Share your thoughts on your vision for Internet Freedom in Africa using #InternetFreedomAfrica This year, the event hashtag is #FIFAfrica18