The rise of social media usage across the world has also brought about new opportunities. One of them is extra income from ‘influencing’. Usually people with large followings earn income from sponsored posts on their accounts and it is a huge thing now.
Well, it seems now the law wants to rein on this growing industry. In Uganda, it is being reported that the communications regulator has directed that influencers with large commercialized online followings must register their activities for monitoring with the sate.
They say that this scheme will charge these influencers a $20 fee and it is aimed to clamp down on immoral or prejudiced content.
Apparently critics view the scheme as a campaign by their President to suppress online content disapproving of him and his government.
Registering influencers is one of the actions Uganda has been doing to attempt to be updated and fast paced world that is social media.
Back in 2018, Ugandans started paying tax to access social media services like WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. It was a daily UGX 200 tax. They also blocked VPNs to stifle the social media tax dodgers. Apparently, that tax saw a ‘huge increase’ in the number of mobile internet users as per the regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission. There was also a time where Uganda allegedly wanted bloggers and online content producers to register with the government and pay an annual $20 fee.
Well we will have to see the reaction to this directive by the Ugandan communications regulator to register influencers in the country.
