Found in the heart of Africa, Uganda is a country that has had its fair share of hardships over the years. The nation has been marred by poverty and military coups, with a huge gap between the large rural areas and the smaller but modernized cities. This kind of divide is illustrated by the internet access as well, since citizens and tourists can only find reliable internet in the capital or other major metropolitan areas. Uganda is also seen as a partly free country by privacy advocate sites such as Freedom House, because while on one hand several pro-privacy bills have been passed by legislators, at the same time the government hopes to pay back its national debts by imposing a social media tax on its citizens.
Internet access is rapidly increasing in Uganda, steadily catching up to other African countries. At the end of 2017, internet penetration had reached 21.9%, which is quite an achievement considering that in 2008 only 2.5 million people subscribed to broadband internet in a country with an populace of 41.5 million. There are over a dozen internet providers in Uganda – Roke Telkom, Smile Communication, Datanet, and Africa Online to name just a few – and most of them offer high speed connections in the capital and neighboring cities, though connectivity drops significantly in poor, rural regions. The average speed ranges between 0.5Mbit and 5Mbit.
In terms of online privacy Uganda still has a long way to go to catch up, but the country is generally on the right track. The 1995 constitutional law explicitly protects an individual’s right to privacy, but it’s meant to cover privacy in general and doesn’t particularly mention any online rights. For quite some time the country has failed to address data protection, too; during the early 2010s, legislators started to recognize the importance of online privacy and come up with certain bills – such as the Computer Misuse Act or the Electronic Signature Act – to prohibit unauthorized access to data and the protecting the disclosure of it. Unfortunately, most of these vaguely worded and failed to adequately solve the issue.
Hopefully the Data Protection and Privacy Bill will bring much-needed clarification and become the first step towards safe internet use for Ugandan internet users. This bill was originally published in 2014, but has gone through several redrafts because it contained unclear definitions. Still, privacy advocates welcomed the positive direction this legislation is taking.
In September 2009 the OpenNet Initiative investigated Uganda’s internet policy and it discovered that no traces of data filtering or governmental surveillance took place, though at the time a very low percent of the population could afford to have access to the web. As technology has advanced and people engaged in freely expressing their thoughts, Ugandan officials felt the need to step in. 2018 marked the arrival of two major injunctions aimed at curbing people’s internet use.
The first is a social media tax. For the ‘privilege’ of using services such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, netizens must pay 200 Ugandan shillings (around 5 U.S. cents) through their ISP’s online interface per day. Paying extra for social media access might be outrageous in itself but considering the low salary of the average Ugandan, this law is clearly meant to discourage people from openly sharing their opinions. The second directive is a outright censorship in which the Pornographic Control Committee forced ISPs to block access to 27 sites for streaming adult content.
Even though the affected sites are just a fragment of online platforms streaming pornographic videos, the move clearly indicates the Ugandan government’s willingness for censorship. The public outcry has been palpable ever since the regulations leaked and experts fear that the government’s action will decrease interest in the internet, ultimately further delaying the country’s technological growth.
Following the introduction of these unpopular directives, VPN use has soared in Uganda. For bloggers, journalists, and civil rights activists the monthly fee of a virtual private network is still more affordable than paying the daily social media ransom, since masking their IP not only prevents ISPs from tracking them but also unblocks foreign and local websites. The rising popularity of VPNs hasn’t gone unnoticed by the government, however. Mutabazi, Executive President of the Uganda Communication Commission, posted the following message on Facebook: “If you think it is cheaper to use VPN than paying Shs 200/day, I think it is very unwise”. He also added that authorities have the means to battle it: “We have technology that will block the VPN services so that no one dodges the taxes”.
It’s unknown how much credence is behind this threat since muzzling VPN use altogether requires either strong internet filtering technology or pressure on ISPs to censor people’s access to foreign websites that are advertising such a service. If Uganda decides to go down this road, it would further erode people’s right to privacy.
Whether you are a Ugandan citizen or a tourist visiting the country, a reliable VPN is a must-have in order to surf the web without any pesky obstacles. Nevertheless, be sure to pick a provider that has established a server in the country to avoid high ping while also looking out for free trials and low monthly prices so the service won’t strain your budget too much.
First of all, please do not feel intimidated: the perhaps vulgar name of the UK-based company is intended to be a pun. HMA VPN has a mascot in the form of a donkey, and thus this little wordplay is nothing to worry about. You should rather pay attention to the fact that HMA VPN is easily one of the best VPN companies today; they offer much more than a standard package. You are also welcome to try out the free web proxy, an anonymous e-mail service and an IP:Port premium service, which is essentially a more elaborate proxy product. On top of this, you also have VPN browser extensions for Chrome and Mozilla to use. HMA VPN does all this while still maintaining decent speeds and healthy prices. These are coupled with the fact that HMA VPN remains one of few providers who still enable access to Netflix. But the most impressive thing about this organization is the number of locations provided – it is unprecedented today.
is a Romanian VPN service founded in 2011 and owned by Kape Technologies – known for other privacy-focused solutions like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access. It features unlimited bandwidth, multiple-device compatibility, and above average speeds in over 11,500 servers across more than 100 countries.
It excels in hiding torrent practices and unblocking geo-restricted websites while still being an excellent option for those simply looking to surf anonymously. Plus, its apps are incredibly intuitive and aesthetically pleasing. Anyone can subscribe to CyberGhost VPN for as low as $2.03 per month with the option to try it first for 1 day on Windows and macOS or 3 days on Android and iOS.
Windscribe is a VPN service founded in Ontario, Canada, having launched its service in April of 2015. It provides you full access to those blocked websites you want to visit, but that you are unable to reach due to region blocks for your location. With Windscribe you can virtually travel with your anonymous IP from Hong Kong to the U.S. without leaving you house. All you need to do is download the app – whether you want it on your PC, Mac, smartphone or any other system (there is also a browser extension) – and then create an account. What makes Windscribe different is that there is no misleading information, making everything easy to use. Furthermore, it features an ad block and social network and website tracking preventions. With regards to the pricing, there is an option to create a free account, or you can go ahead and try a monthly or a yearly subscription of $7.50 per month at its lowest. You are eligible to request a refund up to 3 days after purchase, which makes it possible to try Windscribe Pro without any risk.
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