By Alice Aparo |
Uganda’s biometric digital identity program was introduced to enhance security and ease access to public services, including health units. The government embarked on a nationwide mass registration of citizens for digital national identification (ID) cards in April 2014. During the process, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images of Ugandans above the age of 16…
Announcement |
With $15 million in seed funding, the Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience supports 10 Global South-led organizations that provide technical support to civil society in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Kyoto, Japan (October 10, 2023) – Today, the Ford Foundation announced the launch of the Global Network for Social Justice and Digital Resilience, a…
By CIPESA Writer |
On March 24, 2023, the High Court of Uganda at Kampala ruled to allow experts from Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) to offer their opinions on the human rights red flags around the country’s digital identification (ID) system.
The ruling followed an application by…
By Farooq Gessa Mousal |
The latest telecom report indicates that telephone and internet subscriptions grew by the same percentage between April and June 2021, as the communications sector registered modest growth across all major indicators, the latest market performance report indicates.
Fixed and mobile telephone subscriptions grew by 600,000 from 28.3 million to 28.9 million, a growth rate of 2%, while internet subscriptions grew…
By Edrine Wanyama |
The renewed order by Uganda’s communications regulator for online publishers and broadcasters to apply for licences before they operate presents a grave threat to freedom of expression and citizens’ right of access to information.
Earlier this month, the Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) set October 5, 2020 as the deadline for “persons currently offering or planning to commence the provision of online…
Statement |
Dr. Wairagala Wakabi, the Executive Director, of the Uganda-based Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has been detained, upon arrival, at the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salam, Tanzania earlier today. Immigration authorities have declined to state the basis of his arrest.
Dr. Wakabi had been invited to Tanzania to participate in the annual…
Statement |
There has been widespread concern over newly introduced levies on social media access and mobile money transactions in Uganda, which are widely considered a threat to internet access and affordability, as well as to freedom of expression and access to information. The effects of the taxes that took effect on July 1, 2018, were the focus of discussions at a recent stakeholder dialogue organised by the Collaboration on…
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…
Official Submission |
Article 27 of Uganda’s constitution provides for citizens’ right to privacy, however, there is no law to protect an individual’s data privacy despite the large amounts of citizen data collected by government departments and private entities on a regular basis. More concerning, is that this data is collected with no guarantee of its protection and privacy.
Some existing legislation,…
Save The Date Announcement |
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) are happy to announce the date and location for the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) 2017.
This year’s edition of the Forum will held be in Johannesburg, South Africa, on September 27-29, 2017, thus expanding the…