For a generation that is continuously glued on the internet, it is going to sound unfair to have to pay extra for it. And for someone who is using it primarily to make money, it is going to hurt more. Bloggers in African countries of Tanzania and Uganda will now have to pay a tax for the usage of social media! The social media users will have to pay extra from July in a bid to raise revenue for the country. On March 16, 2018, the United Republic of Tanzania issued the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations demanding that bloggers must register and pay over USD $900 per year to publish online.

Human rights activists are strictly opposing the move and denouncing it as another attempt by President Yoweri Museveni to stifle the freedom of expression. This move will rage people in the country since about 40% of people use the internet. There are certain other restrictions in the publishing of content. According to these regulations, bloggers will have to fill out official regulatory forms and avoid publishing prohibited content including nudity, hate speech, explicit sex acts, extreme violence, “content that causes annoyance” fake news, and “bad language” among other restrictions. After Tanzania, Uganda Finance Minister Matia Kasaija this week said they are in the process of introducing a tax for users of platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook Sh5.50 (200 Ugandan shillings) per day.

According to this new law, a Tanzanian blogger will have to to pay an annual licence fee of Sh44,000 (1 million Tanzanian shillings). This can definitely impact number of internet users in these country but the Finance Minister believes otherwise. Kasaija was quoted to Reuters, "We’re looking for money to maintain the security of the country and extend electricity so that you people can enjoy more of social media, more often, more frequently." The data costs in Africa are already high compared to the rest of the world and this newly levied tax is only adding to the problem. The criticisms have already begun on social media. “It’s part of a wider attempt to curtail freedoms of expression,” Rosebell Kagumire, a human rights activist and blogger, has said to Reuters. It is apparent that the taxes will receive a lot of opposition from the bloggers soon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2018 03:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).