Three years after limiting access to the widely used social media platform, Facebook is being discussed for a possible reopening in Uganda, according to Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, Minister of Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) and National Guidance. Dr. Baryomunsi told Ugandans during a conference hosted by the ICT ministry that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is in discussions with Facebook to determine how to resume operations in the nation.
He said, “Facebook has been closed for a while, but many people can still access it through VPN, which is expensive for users.” Dr. Baryomunsi urged the young people to use their knowledge and skills to create Facebook-like networks and applications.
Through the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, individuals can hide their online identities and create secure network connections while utilizing public networks. 2.5 million Ugandans, or 5.3% of the nation’s total population, were Facebook users as of January 2022.
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) followers’ accounts on the Meta-owned app were blocked for being judged phony during the 2021 General Elections, which pushed the government to decide to ban Facebook. Facebook declined to cooperate with the government’s demands to restore the erased accounts, even after numerous attempts to address the problem were made. Millions of Ugandans were forced to use VPN apps as a result in order to access the platform.
Government organizations including the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), which received sh700 million in revenue from the app, were hurt by Facebook’s 2021 closure. Facebook is still the most popular platform, and many Ugandan organizations—including government agencies, commercial businesses, and development partners—use VPNs to access it in spite of the closure. URA expects to receive sh5 billion in tax revenue from the digital economy, which is indicative of the platform’s ongoing popularity.
